Three Days to Sleep || October 27-29, 2006

...I'll be asleep, anyway, as the dickweed in the Dd cubicle next to mine has gotten everybody here sick. And here I thought I'd gotten away from the obnoxious parts of corporate life.

But that doesn't mean I can't bitch about the booking travesty that is tomorrow night. Dan's Silverleaf and the Double Wide are each throwing special tribute band concerts on Saturday, a total slap-yer-forehead screw-up that deserves a huge round of boos. Is one show better than the other? Not really, and forcing local music fans to pick one rare theme show over another is plain rude. But use these tips to make up your mind.

1) Dan's: Our Band Could Be Your Band
Thirteen local bands, many of which I've never even heard of, cover the 13 acts in Michael Azzerad's classic indie-rock book Our Band Could Be Your Life. Denton fret-burners Record Hop covering Fugazi? Cool. Brent Best's Drams covering the Replacements? Perfect. The insanity of the Butthole Surfers recreated by the equally off-kilter Baptist Generals? Sweet Jesus, yes. The Minutemen by Deep Snapper? Uh...who the hell is Deep Snapper? It's hard to gauge the complete lineup when I haven't seen most of these bands live (though some of these bands' MySpace samples are promising), but that point aside, this concert breaks my very important, personal rule, established after this year's Wall of Sound Festival: If more than five bands perform, a venue damn well better offer some sort of distraction once the inevitable cabin fever sets in. If you really think you can handle 13 bands from 8 p.m. onward, go test your fortitude.

2) DW: Adventure Club Halloween Extravaganza
Good news: Baboon's take on Echo and the Bunnymen will certainly be the most worthwhile of the cover sets at both venues. Expect their tribute to be impassioned and interesting, rather than a rock-by-numbers retread of the band's songs. Bad news: Who knows how the rest of the night will go? Blow Aces (the Oasis tribute band helmed by former Chomsky guitarist Glen Reynolds) hasn't played in years, Peter Schmidt covering Elvis Costello isn't exactly a stretch and Josh friggin' Venable (who has openly admitted his lack of musical talent) is taking the stage with members of Blood on the Moors (who underwhelmed at the Spune Back to School Bash) to murder Bruce Springsteen's legacy. But it's shorter, it's closer to Dallas and honestly, nobody performing here can be any worse than the unknowns at Dan's.

There are plenty of other shows this weekend, but I need to nap. But I can't help but recommend Rose County Fair at the Cavern tonight, even if they're sandwiched between two bands that I'd never pay to see. Anybody who thinks alt-country is played out beyond belief should listen to RCF's demos and fall back in love. -SM