Tonight FREE TICKETS || August 31, 2007

Sorry that this is a bit late in the day (and, um, sorry about the utter lack of posts), but we figure this break in the silence will begin the healing process.

Did you miss the Mom EP release party at the Granada a week or so ago? Relive that lineup's utter quality at the Double Wide tonight with Shiny Around The Edges and History At Our Disposal opening once again. First person to e-mail bigdlittled@gmail.com with MOM in the subject--must be over 21, by the way--will win a free pair of tickets (you plus one). Get crackin'! -SM

Various Notes || August 31, 2007

I am pretty sure Sam will have a weekender up this afternoon, but I wanted to toss a few notes up while I have the time.

We are only 3 weeks away from The Wall of Sound Festival at LaGrave Field in Fort Worth. Explosions in the Sky, Midlake, Spectrum, The Books and Pinback are just a few of the 30 bands that are playing the festival on September 22nd and tickets are on sale at the Wall of Sound Fest website. Expect to see a lot more on this over the next 3 weeks.

The schedule for the Pleasant Grove Preservation Society residency (that started last night) at the Double Wide has been finalized. 3 more weeks to check out what should be some of the more interesting and fun shows in the metroplex next month.
The line up (from the Double Wide):

Thursday 9/6
Doors early at 9:00!
Pleasant Grove Preservation Society
Sarah Jaffe
Old Canes (Lawrence, KS) featuring Chris Crisci of Appleseed Cast
At 9:00, we will be showing "Le Mystere Picasso" (1956) in the venue as Pleasant Grove Preservation Society plays a somewhat improptu soundtrack to it....so get there early!

Thursday 9/13
Pleasant Grove Preservation Society
J.D. Whittenburg
The Naptime Shake

Thursday 9/20
Pleasant Grove Preservation Society
Brent Best
Slider Pines

Finally, Midlake have a new EP, entitled Oak and Julian available on iTunes. The EP includes acoustic versions of Roscoe and It Covers the Hillsides, as well as two b-sides from previously released UK only singles entitled Marion and Mornings Will Be Kind.

Pleasant News || August 24, 2007

Show wise, this is not the biggest weekend in the history of the metroplex to say the least. So I suggest everyone head over to WSJR for their weekender, as the Dd camp really has very little.

The one show I do suggest not missing is the Double Wide's 4 year anniversary party featuring Eleven Hundred Springs, Dove Hunter, The Von Erichs, Little Big Horn, Black Gasoline and a mechanical bull.

In place of me naming 10 more shows and making snarky comments about each, I give you this:

Starting 8/30 and running through 9/20, Pleasant Grove will be taking up Thursday night residency at the Double Wide.

Sort of...

The show on the 30th will be the Grove's Marcus Striplin solo and the 3 weeks after that will be The Pleasant Grove Preservation Society, which we are told is PG minus Bret plus special guests. The show on 9/6 will offer attendees a special treat as the PGPS crew will provide an impromptu soundtrack for the fantastic 1956 documentary The Mystery of Picasso, which will be projected on a screen in front of the band. -jhl

d Nuts || August 21, 2007

Our raves about Cartright were shortlived...or so we thought. What once was a Denton band, then an Austin band, then no band, is apparently being reformed by lead singer Ben Cartright. According to a MySpace post earlier today, the guy is actively seeking a drummer/percussionist to revive the band's good name.

Whether that will come to be remains to be seen; in the meantime, you can hear the guy solo at Daytrotter, where he performs four unreleased songs. But I have to be frank--Ben sounds like trash in these, his voice wracked to a point that pains even my battered ears. Get this kid some lemon juice. -SM

Three Days To Rise || August 17-19, 2007

DdCal has many an option listed...here's the scrutinizin'.

FRIDAY

Undoubtedly, the Granada Theater is where you want to be tonight. Cat Power comes to town, backed by the Dirty Delta Blues Band, for a one-off show to coincide with her recent recording with Oak Cliff's very own Stuart Sikes. Even better, they've thrown Dd's favorite Abilenian, Micah P. Hinson, into the fray as an opener. Arrive early. Soak it in. Take video and send it to Dd. And if you can't get in, do consider the solid Denton bill at Club Dada: Pinebox Serenade and Spitfire Tumbleweeds. The best in Denton swamp-jug-jammin', man.

SATURDAY

Jesse Hughey's piece this week on the New Sabbath Festival is interesting...though ultimately, it's a beating to read. Not so much Jesse's fault, anyway--too much drama and weirdness has clouded an otherwise compelling day of music. This fest is about the many colors of Texas' current folk/country/freak rainbow, and while the biggest names hail from south of here--Peter & The Wolf, Brothers & Sisters, Jana Hunter--the rest is a good sampling of what our fair boroughs have to offer. The question is, will the fest go off without a hitch? Doubtedly, but hopefully the growing pains will be minimal. The full lineup/schedule is listed here, though my guess is that acts will move/cancel up to the last minute, and those reports will probably reach We Shot JR before they reach us. So keep your eyes glued that-a-ways before you leave for the mega-concert tomorrow at the Denton Square and J&J's Pizza.

And if that's not enough Denton music for you, the Fra House (2127 West Oak) is throwing a Record Hop concert later in the evening. White Drugs open. Wear earplugs. Then put earplugs into those earplugs. Only then might you be safe from how loud this house party will surely be.

SUNDAY

Longtime local pop-punker Darlington plays a free show at the Barley House. Even worse, Lee Harvey's is throwing a roller derby after-party. And to top it all off, Daughtry, Nickelback and Puddle of Mudd share the stage at Pizza Hut Park. With the combination of these events, Dd's advice is to hide in your house and avoid the metroplex-wide herpes outbreak that will surely result from these three moons aligning.

(Actually, there's a cool local hip-hop party/fest/expo at Exposition Park starting around 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, featuring quality local artists like Headkrack's talented Boondox crew and Dow Jonez. Consider it.) -SM

D Nuts || August 16, 2007

You may remember when the Polyphonic Spree got itself wrapped up in Adidas and the MLS last October? Looks like they're not done allying with the "Dallas" franchise (why don't they just rename it FC Frisco, anyway?), writing and recording the team's theme song. DOMA-winning blog....ugh....Gorilla Vs. Bear has the scoop (and the MP3).

Oh, come on. Theme song? Maybe that's how they do it in other countries, but if Major League Soccer ever expects to be taken seriously in the States--and if Becks' ankle never fully heals--maybe it should go a different route than, say, '70s and '80s cartoon-style themes. Like most of the other MLS anthems, it's not exactly the kind of solid song you'll repeat on the stereo (no, not even the Bad Brains' song is that good), but hey--it's nowhere near as awful as Team USA's theme songs.

And of course, Dd digs just a bit deeper than its bitter, awful rivals...turns out the FC Dallas soccer club is called "Hoops" thanks to the red rings that circle the team's uniforms. Consider that your soccer lesson for the year. -SM

Tonight || August 15, 2007

Not sure why Pancakes for Mattie Records has yet to send Dd a copy of the new Mom album, but that's okay...we happen to have a copy. We recorded the Denton duo's 30 minute live performance of the album at Good Records this past June, and the resulting 600MB file is too large for us to throw up on YouTube. Sorry about that. If you want to hear the melodic, Books-ian compositions of one of the area's most stunning new acts, you'll have to attend their CD release show tonight at the Granada Theater, which may very well be the best local show the Granada gets all year--and yes, that includes topping last night's Bobby Patterson/Nourallah Alliance brigade. History At Our Disposal, Shiny Around The Edges and Tree Wave are making some of the region's most compelling music right now, so get to the Granada early tonight and have yourself a good time. Voot Cha Index supposedly performs as well, though reports are mixed on that one. Turns out not only are Voot Cha Index performing, but it's their farewell show before the young band parts ways for college and the like.

Sadly, tonight also marks the farewell concert for Denton's Sarah Reddington, who bid their hometown farewell tonight before moving to Portland. New Science Projects, Daniel Folmer and Chris Garver open this bon voyage gig at Rubber Gloves. -SM

DOMA Live || August 14, 2007

Looks like Jasun will be able to live-blog from the Dallas Observer Music Awards. If you can't attend--or are out of town--and want the scoop on winners, losers and whatever crazy shit goes down, keep it here tonight. Jasun will update this very post within hours from now. -SM

JASUN

640 : I'm here. The line outside is long. the line for food is longer. No sign of Bottle Rocket star Robert Musgrave (my personal draw tonight), but my eyes are open. Looks to be packed tonight. The Crash That Took Me are about to perform for the "VIP" party. More later.

706 : Coach Joe is here! This party is officially started

728 : The Crash That Took Me ruled. [come on, Jasun, we need more MEAT to these! Dd readers expect more for you...]

7:35 : nobody in cammo or unibomber gear yet

741 : Talking to two drunk guys giving commentary outside. Everyone is either 'Kings of Leon' or 'a hot chick' except for black tie dynasty, who are 'flock of seagulls'

755 : Greg from queen for a day ( best cover nom) -- 'We are not going to win'

800 : ceremony starts in 15 minutes. Granada is getting packed...there's still plenty of food

807 : the bro to ho ratio is about even. this might not be so bad

812 : The official word from the double wide girls = "Its and honor just to be nominated"... They had better win

814 : Tahiti from PPT wants to go on record saying "Sammy Mac.... he's my nigga"

827 : Here we go

830 : Pugs and Kelly announce Coach Joe to give the first award

831 :1st award: Best radio show. winner = The Adventure Club ... Josh is here, nice speech, actually

833 : Best Blog.... Gorilla vs Bear

834 : Best Venue = Granada.

835: Granada crew sounds like KISS thanking Dallas, Texas. no meantion of yeomans [kris yeomans, who has helped the venue's recent booking renaissance]. lame

838 : Best label = Idol Records. Irv [Karwelis] shows class. Thanks about every band ever on his label. Nice win

840 : Best Dance Club = The Lizard Lounge. yawn

843 : Joe's last award. Best DJ = DJ Merritt. The Party fans boo. Merritt tries to get people into En Vogue remixes. At least I think that's what happened. I fell asleep.

845 : Shibboleth takes the stage to play songs by the 5 Americans and the Nervebreakers.

901 : Steve Austin expresses how excited he is 'just to be here,' cliché or not. "It's been the best year of my career, and it's great to see so many people representing DFW here tonight," he says. The hip-hop/rap category is probably the award that has us torn the most tonight, as Steve and PPT both deserve the award. [Sam: Hell, I put my vote towards Money Waters and his stellar Niggahlaws record as well.]

905 : George Gimarc takes the stage to give the next set of awards.

907 : Best Latino/ Tejano = Mad Mexicans

909 : Best Cover Band = Hard Nights Day. Mike Rhyner looks like he could care less that Petty Theft didn't win.

913 : Best Funk/R&B = Woodbelly. Not here. zzzzzzzzzz

915 : Backsliders win best blues. say they aren't a blues band. knock over mic.

917 : Best Jazz = Shanghai 5. that's 2 for Idol Records

925 : Paul Slavens and Shibboleth just killed 'Nurture My Pig', waiting for PPT to cover The DOC with bated breath...

935 : PPT takes the stage to cover The DOC's 'No one can do it better'. This place just got live. Girls crowing the front of the stage for the first time. Best moment of the night.

940: Channel 11's Sara Dodd and Dallas Police Chief David Kunkel take the stage...and David needs to get on the stage, because 1100 Springs just got robbed by Boys Named Sue for best country [Sam: Jasun has a serious 1100 bias, not always to be trusted]

942 : the pAper chAse win best experimental. hell yes

943 : Sarah Jaffe wins best folk/acoustic. hell yes

944 : Best Hard Rock = Burden Bros. they aren't here; I guess they are opening for def leppard in columbia, missouri tonight

945 : Best rap/hip-hop=PPT

950 : The smoking area [outside of the Granada] looks like an NHRA meeting

958 : Had a brief chat with Doug Burr. He is one one of the most incredible dudes in Dallas. That's all

1000 : Shibboleth are killing inside, but Pops Carter is holding a clinic outside.

1012 : the valentines just won whatever they were nom'ed for

1014 : Best New Act = sarah jaffe

1017 : Best Song = honkey tonk if yer horny by boys named sue

1020 : Best Album = movements by black tie dynasty

1021 : BTD get on stage and aren't baboon. sucks

1023 : Shiboleth get on stage and hate the fact that they have to play songs by Steve Miller and Meatloaf

1024 : The Steve Miller cover makes exactly 1% of the dancers grind that the PPT cover did. And I'm pretty sure that one was someone's grandmother

1044 : long ass musical break

1047 : The crowd is chewing their wrists in unison to the Meatloaf cover that has taken 15 years to play

1049 : Wilonsky makes his first Jew joke saying that Chris Holt is meatloafing his 'next' bar mitzvah

1050 : jonanna hits the stage!

1051 : Best Insturmentalist = Eddie Thomas from BTD. amazing

1054 : Best Producer = Salim Nourallah

1055 : Best Male Singer = Corey Watson BTD

1058 : Best Female Singer = Sarah Jaffe. hell yes

1059 : Best Musician is Chris Holt...she didn't announce it, though. she accidentally revealed it by holding the envelope the wrong way so everyone in the front could read it. nice.

1100 : Best Act in Town = Black Tye Dynasty. I wanna move

1103 : Andrew from Baboon is more interested in talking to me about Arsenal being 2 points
ahead of ManU after the first weekend than talking music awards. it's okay. Bobby Patterson takes the stage

1110 : Record Hop/Spitfire Tumbleweeds/ SHQ/ TXMF's Scott Porter gives me his opinion on the awards--"hahahahahahahahahahahaha"

1115 : heading out. Pops Carter is still holding church service outside. Tonight's real winners are those that pass him on the way to their car

D Nuts || August 14, 2007

Today at Good Records at 5pm: Eisley performs a free, acoustic concert to celebrate the release of second full-length Combinations. Sadly, this disc sees the quintet lose its spark, settling into humdrum, overly perky pop songwriting. Hopefully it's just a phase. -SM

D Nuts || August 13, 2007

We should have a review up about the Observer's pre-awards showcase from this past weekend up by tomorrow, if not tonight--awaiting a draft from a new contributor to Dd. (No pressure, Alyssa!)

It's looking to be a busy week in the Dallas area, and we'll have stuff up about the New Sabbath Fest, the Cat Power show on Friday and Dd's time at the Observer Music Awards on Tuesday night. If you voted for us, thanks. I think the online voting has been closed. Jasun will be there--possibly dressed up like the guys from We Shot JR, though he hasn't decided yet. If you attend the showcase, find him and say hello. -SM

Three Days to Rise || August 10-12, 2007

DdCal's pretty thick this weekend; here are some picks.

FRIDAY

Dd's secret girlfriend, Neko Case, tiptoes into the Nokia tonight, opening for...Rufus Wainwright. Love her, sure, but not that much. Elsewhere, Double Wide corners the local hillbilly spectrum with the bluegrass of Fish Fry Bingo and the Texas boogie of The Lonesome Losers. Also, Dallas' Silk Stocking has just finished an impressive LP, Dialogues With The Devil. Until we get our review finished, get a taste for the band's improved, Nick Cave-ian piano dirges at Pastime Tavern.

And it's been a while since we've seen the talented, Built To Spill-appreciative guys in Bridges and Blinking Lights pop up in a bill; see what they've been up to at Secret HQ, and then walk down the block to catch Stumptone's lush, noise-rocking headlining set at tonight's solid Rubber Gloves bill.

SATURDAY

The Dallas Observer's music awards showcases overtake Lower Greenville from 6 p.m. until midnight tonight. What does that mean? A relatively interesting mix of good, bad and boring acts play in what will surely be the six worst sounding rooms in Dallas. Certainly, The Cavern does the best it can with its tight, too-close-to-the-bar setup, but the other five venues for this event never, ever, ever host live music. Couple that with the inevitable shiny-shirt-wearing, meat-market douchebags that will descend upon these clubs, usually limited to shitty dance music, by 11 p.m., and you've got a likely disaster.

Hopefully, the solid music at these showcases will rise above the muck and make for a good night. And since the Observer wasn't bright enough to chop up the schedules and reduce overlap, you'll have to make some sacrifices in your set picks. Dd picks in order of pref:
6pm: Tame...Tame & Quiet or Doug Burr
7pm: Sarah Jaffe or Johnny Lloyd Rollins
8pm: Common Folk (this hour is the weakest; stop by Good Records or the Taco C)
9pm: Baboon, Rose County Fair or THe BAcksliders (the latter's CD is weak, but their live show has been getting better reviews from friends than I've expected)
10pm: The Frenz or Steve Austin
11pm: The Theater Fire, PPT or Mitra

Be ready to adjust those showgoing times for inevitable delays and bumps in the schedules. We Shot JR has a great wrap-up of other shows around town, so go that-a-ways for picks, particularly those at Secret HQ and the Double Wide.

SUNDAY

We Shot JR's take on the Jason Isbell/Centro-matic show at Hailey's is perfect. -SM

Lee Nuts || August 10, 2007

Check out this missive from Dallas Observer music editor Robert Wilonsky (which is more descriptive, but much later, than Cindy Chaffin's Wednesday report). Dd fave Lee Harvey's is among the few wonderful things in the otherwise sketchy, hard-to-find zone it sits in within South Dallas. Spread the word and make sure this Chris Jones douche doesn't have his way trying to bully the bar out of its charm and worth to the city. A good start would be to hold WFAA accountable for the misinformation in this report: " The spot is known for good music, which many residents say is too loud," the report says (my emphasis added), only to cite one complainant in the article. Not to be a media tight-ass, but that borders on a lie worthy of legal action if Lee Harvey's was so inclined. -SM

D Nuts || August 9, 2007

To truly study a local music scene, its media deserves an unflinching eye. From papers to radio stations, from blogs to bulletins, the music story, whether we like it or not, is often about the storytellers. Sadly, the most deserving Dallas target of such attention as of late happens to be Jonanna Widner, the former Fort Worthian who returned to Texas to take over my position as Dallas Observer music editor last year. Quite frankly, any Dd slags in her direction come off as oddly and awkwardly as John Kerry diatribes about George Bush. You know?

So for the most part, I've restrained myself and let her work do the talking--letting great local stories and concert announcements slip by, failing to research the history of bands she has written about, allowing concert and club listings to become a mess, writing repeat stories about a very narrow subset of DdFW's ridiculously diverse pool of acts...I have private complaints as well, but those, even more than that list, come from the music editor in me, not the music fan.

Thankfully, this week's music column has alarmed the Web editor in me, which is a first, so I'm taking advantage. Her column is dedicated to the fracas that consumed We Shot JR last week. In short, WSJR's very long feature about the band Matthew and the Arrogant Sea included the lead singer's claim that the band was part of a pending $6 million distribution deal with EMI. The rest of the band came on the site a day later to kabosh this claim, and between each of these posts, hundreds of reader comments popped up, many of which cast doubt and talked trash.

After copying and pasting a good many of these comments, Widner goes on to express outrage and shock that so many people could post such nasty, mean things. "What does this have to do with music?" she asks, panting, short of breath.

I've got a few more questions than that. How about some context? You could explain that We Shot JR is, and has always been, the local music scene's Beyond Thunderdome--a chaotic desert of anonymous comment banter, held together by the often acidic but always thoughtful posts, tips and opinions of site founder "StonedRanger." And as anybody who's been to the site at least more than three times can attest to, many of the outsider posts can be ignored for the bullshit they really are. A few musicians around town have confided in me that they post rude, crude and weird stuff just for the hell of it.

Since when is this fucking news? People who type crap on their computers and click the "anonymous" button might--WHOA NOW--not entirely mean it? This is 2007. Giving anonymous readers that much credit for their opinions is like leaving your cell phone on when you go to a movie. The concept isn't new anymore. You have no excuse.

That being said, real conversations can be found between the anon shouts. So it's sad to see Widner ask, "Why the fuck would anyone want to engage in an environment wherein the slightest move gets you bombarded by toxic fallout?" The answer, of course, is that there is a conversation to engage in on sites like We Shot JR. No membership, no screened content, no wondering whether or not your contribution will be seen. You click and it's there. And truly, that sense of discussion, passion, insight and even tension is much more meaningful to a creative community than Widner's continually hollow statements: "that DFW has no cohesive scene, that Deep Ellum is dying..."

These two half-sentences are as close as the woman gets to not copying and pasting something in the column, and what does she do to back either of these claims up? Nothing. Moves on to a diatribe on the fractured Dallas scene based solely on WSJR's anonymous commenters. Why use the gift of insight to consider the relatively trouble-free associations between varying bands, MCs and performers around North Texas?

But her lack of work, thought and insight is nothing new. The most startling trend of Widner's tenure at the Observer, the thing I hoped would have faded by now, is that her work is a repeat of her face value experience. This is what Dallas music is. These are the actual words listed on the comments thread. These are the 15 local bands I've bothered to see in concert. What I see, I repeat. What I'm given, I put down in the paper. Conversations require work. Copying and pasting does not.

Control+C, control+V. Hey, look. I can do it too.

...ah, there I go with the John Kerry crap again. -SM

d Nuts || August 6, 2007

If you haven't seen Denton hometowners The Riverboat Gamblers in a while, consider catching them at the second annual Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin in November. The young fest announced its second iteration today, and even though last year's already had some big headliners, to say it has grown just a wee little bit might come off as rude. A Murder City Devils reunion is just the tip of this lineup's iceberg; take a look-see and prepare for an I-35 journey come November 3rd, 2007. -SM

Three Days To Rise || August 3-5, 2007

DdCal has stuff up, and We Shot JR has its usual, solid weekend wrap-up. A few notable things they missed:

FRIDAY: One of my favorite fell-through-the-cracks Austin alt-country acts sneaks into town tonight. They used to be called Milton Mapes; now, they're called Monahans and opening for fellow alt-country Austin act San Saba County at the Double Wide. If you like Lone Star 92.5 yet hate the Texas Country that the station plays, this show is for you. Also, our barely-Dallas friends (long story) in Murder By Death open for Reverend Horton Heat at the House o' Snooze.

THE REST TO COME

D Nuts || August 3, 2007

Your ears don't deceive you, local music fans; that there's The Deathray Davies' "Release The Squid" on a commercial for the soon-to-be number-one video game in America. This isn't the first time that the DRD's music has been in the background of nationally televised product, but prior spots were mostly on MTV reality shows. This spot, already in serious rotation on places like ESPN, is a considerable upgrade in potential eyes and ears.

It's news to DRD lead singer John Dufilho, who found out about the spot when a friend called to congratulate him; the ad spot was arranged by his label, not the band. "This couldn't be further out of left field for me, because I'm not into sports at all," he says. And video games? "Yeah, I don't know a thing about them, either. I'm just in a bubble." -SM

Aw, Nuts || August 3, 2007

Two unfortunate announcements this week. First up, as our good friend Noah W. Bailey pointed out on Wednesday, the singular country efforts of Current Leaves are no more. Well, not under that name, anyway--Aaron White's announcement ends with this optimistic foreshadowing: "don't think any of us are done playing and making music in public...and there is still a forthcoming album..."

Hey, if White needs to drop the band name as a kickstart, so be it. When CL's Pastense was released, a lot of the local music scene was barely aware, as the band just didn't push in terms of promotion and harder gigging. Which doesn't make the music any worse, certainly, but bands and inertia aren't usually a positive combination.

Sarah Reddington, meanwhile, isn't done, but the band members are packing their bags and zipping off to Portland. S'pose that's good news for me, as I'll be able to drive to their gigs in the PacNW, but if their promising noisy-pop sucked you in during their relatively short Denton tenure, give thanks at their farewell show at Rubber Gloves on Wednesday, August 15th. -SM

Tonight || August 1, 2007

My long-in-the-making Demigs CD review is just to the left on the screen...check it out, and then consider their 9 p.m. opening slot at Hailey's tonight before Phoenix, AZ, Dear & The Headlights (if Doves decided to go emo......eh).

Or, since the Demigs will be done by around 10, consider quite a few other options up at DdCal, including solid shows at Dan's Silverleaf (Spitfire Tumbleweeds, 100 Damned Guns, and a solid opener from SF) and the Double-Wide (Kinks hoot night with The Happy Bullets and more). It's a busy hump day. Enjoy it. -SM