"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
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