a week in review

holy fuck / crocodiles / damages goods @ the lounge: a rainy and blustery night keep the armatures away...local hip hop act damaged good opened with a loosey goosey set over spaced out beats that did a quite bit to amend for their really obnoxious performance opening for tricky a few months back...everyone says crocodiles is a jesus and the mary chain clone and you know what?...they are...the wave of dance deconstructionist and synth-pop revivalist over the last couple years has been seemingly endless and a lot of it is entirely disposable...holy fuck however is not and in fact after there performance id put them close to the top of the heap of the countless acts fusing rock, pop and dance and whatever else...with enough effects pedals and gadgets to make dan deacon green with envy the boys layered waves of psychedelic feedback over taught bass lines and understated vocals that play more like an instrument within the music than someone belting over a back beat...a bit predictable at times but all in all a highly enjoyable set

shiny around the edges / true widow / tre orsi @ the annex house: first time ive visited the friendly confines of the annex house and friendly it was...missed tre orsi but ive seen true widow a few times know and they have always impressed and this show was no exception...there not exactly breaking new ground with time tested formula of slow building arrangements that always end loudly with lots of power chords but they do it well and thats good enough for me...conversely shiny around the edges flat sucked....plodding and predictable i walked after five songs...maybe i just dont get it...keep it up annex

white denim / harlem / pvc street gang / fight bite @ pastime tavern: got there to late for fight bite and just as pvc street gang was warming up and they tore through a solid set of quality proto-punk influenced songs that left me wanting more of them and more liquor(only beer at the pastime) so we bolted out for harlem to get have some tequila at lee harveys and to say hi to our friend melissa who was having her birthday shindig there...after woofing down a few shots we were back to the pastime for white denim...after d anticipation was high and after the first 10 seconds it was obvious why...these guys are simply the real deal and all the attention they have garnered is entirely deserved...there sound would most easily classified as garage rock but the title doesnt do them justice...first off these cats can absolutely play there ass off...and drummer joshua block is an absolute beast stacked broken cymbals and all...second the songs have fantastic structure and keep you guessing....like many i predict huge things and it was a pleasure seeing them in a venue as cozy as the pastime...more shows there please

david byrne @ the majestic: what can be said about byrne that hasnt already been said...the guys a legend and his influence is boundless...so what a treat it was to see him and his ensemble at what has to be the D's classiest venue...loose and relaxed byrne took the stage with little fanfare opting to just walk out unannounced to talk with the audience....joking and laughing with the attendees it was obvious he was in good spirits and it showed in his performance...only doing music from his rich collaborative history with the equally legendary and sadly absent brian eno(except for "my big hands")including pieces from the three talking heads albums eno produced and the two albums they wrote and produced together...1981's "my life in the bush of ghosts" and 2008's "everything that happens will happen today"...he flowed through the material with ease and grace backed by a fantastic band...in typical byrne fashion he fleshed out the show by incorporating a trio of modern dancers that embodied herky jerky and spastic movements that byrne was famous for in his heyday and presented them in triplicate...choreographed but not the least bit rigid the show perfectly mirrored the person and personality of the man at the center of it all ...and what a man...and what a show

stop your whining....shit aint that bad

"this is the nicest place ive ever been to...in dallas"

what will oldham aka bonnie "prince" billy was referring to with his totally transparent and backhanded compliment during his fairly stellar set last saturday evening was the venue which was hosting his much esteemed folk outfit(ive decided his touring drummer jim white is the greatest drummer alive but that dude from absu aint to shabby either) and what has certainly become one of dallas' finest musical stages, the granada theater...it got me thinking about the many months i had spent down in austin over the last few years and the dozens of shows ive caught down there and how they compare to shows here in the lame ass D and ive got to tell you we have it pretty good...sure there are lots of acts that skip dallas but if you like them enough austin is just a short jaunt down 35...and yeah there are obviously a lot more people into the "scene" down in austin...and thats a good thing...but it also kinda sucks sometimes...it gets crowded at shows and im a fat boy who likes his space...beer is cheaper in austin and thats important stuff...oh well...adapt, overcome, be a grown up and carry a flask...and then there is one area we have austin beat hands down in my view...the venues...obviously the atx have us beat based on number of venues alone but what about quality of experience? sure emos is historic...everyone has played there at some point or another but the sound is pretty crap...stubbs has become the new music mecca for austin but its outside which to me kinda waters shit down if your not right down front....and im getting old so my days of being right down front, for the most part, are behind me...the mohawk is cool but the sound is serviceable at best and the outdoor area with its stark white walls and flood lights make me feel like im an extra on the set of prison break...red 7 is pretty cool...decent sound and they have air hockey and pinball which is fresh...i guess my theory is the music scene there is so built in that most venues dont have to go the extra mile...i mean hey...its austin...and thats supposed to be good enough right?...the sound sucks...its austin...waiting three deep to get a beer...its austin...having to threaten to stomp some drunk crustys head in because he wont leave you alone...its austin...dont get me wrong...i love it down there and on many levels we just cant compete...but when it comes to venues i think were doing quite well....case and point: me and one of my very best friends who happens to be resident of our fair capital and a total music nerd took the time to see all three off the butthole surfers dates through texas a few months back...they played austin(stubbs), houston(meridian) and dallas(granada) and let me tell you it wasnt even close...the granada show was absolutely head a shoulders the best...the sound...the visuals...the whole fucking deal...at one point during their set my friend looks over to me in a drunken psychedelic haze and exclaimed at the top of his lungs(the only way i could hear him) "i could lay down and die right now...a happy man"...he has since extolled the virtues of the granada to many of his fellow austin denizens but they dont hear anything after the word "dallas" is uttered...and thats fine by me...keep the bastards at bay as far as im concerned...hell...who am i kidding? they are not coming...even still ive taken to agreeing with anyone who tells me "their sorry" when i tell them where i reside...i tell them it sucks and i cant wait to leave because part of why its so rad here is that its so lame..."keep dallas lame"...thats what i say...but not so much to keep it lame as much to keep the cool shit our little secret

im back....so is some other shit

what the hell...im unemployed

good news for local music fans and deep ellum...trees is reopening...and in a stroke of genius they go off and book plano black metal legends ABSU to play later this month...yeah the same ABSU that has released one of the most lauded metal records of the year and got a score of 8.2 on pitchfork today



did i mention they are from plano?

spent my friday at the brutal juice show at dada....had to be 200 people there....which is fucking awesome and as always the juice absolutely killed...so with dada and the lounge in full swing with consistent good shows and trees reopening and the dart rail up and running things are looking good for our once great and now discarded live music and entertainment district...according to the DMN article the economic downturn has adversely affected the plans for some of the local land barons to turn it into another "mixed use" project which near as i can tell is real estate lingo for "were gonna squeeze as much rent out of this plot of land as fucking possible"

chalk one up for the recession



thanks to jeff liles for the quality vid