4/4/09 - Robyn Hitchcock & Venus 3, Brent Best

speaking of demanding females (i was - see below), i agreed to take a fellow live-music lover and rabid REM fan (she has an REM tattoo on her ASS, fer chrissakes) to the granada to see Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, being as how the Venus 3 is made up of original and "affiliate members" of REM (Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey & Bill Rieflin). so's i did.

Bad sign right away - they had tables set up in the middle section. to me, that means one thing - oldsters.

Brent Best (the Drams), Joe Cripps (Brave Combo), and Scott Danbom (Centro-matic) opened. very talented bunch, very nice songs. yes. very nice. The aforementioned Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 headlined. k, so i don't really have an appreciation for all the wonderful things Robyn Hitchcock has done for rock-n-roll over the years, so. i dono, i guess it was alright. i labeled it oldster pop. very pleasant. not really crazy about Robyn's voice, but i think that's supposed to be a signature of his or something. all of the backing musicians were very competent. i did like the harmonies provided by Scott.

3/30/09 - The Felons, All the Day Holiday

headed to club dada on monday night cuz it had been too long since i'd heard the felons. i was caught by surprise by this show, which i didn't see until i was at work on monday, so i've got no crappy pics for ya.

All the Day Holiday opened, and holy shit were these guys fantastic. they're from Ohio, and it looks like it hasn't been too long since they've seen the inside of a high school classroom. despite that, their sound was phenomenal. the voice on the lead was incredible. awesome drummer (who was situated up front for some reason - maybe due to his awesomeness?). wonderful guitar-work. fantastic collection of anthemic, soaring, head-bobbin' tunes - sort of a harder-edged Keane/Coldplay vibe. bought both their EP and sampler. full album due out soon. watch out for these guys.

The Felons were up next, and you know I loves me some felons, so i won't repeat myself. Needless to say, i loved their "old" songs, and sung along with every one of them, and i loved the new stuff too. dave and the boys have a knack for writing songs that just do it for me. look forward to seeing them again soon - i never get tired of 'em.

there was another band up next, but more pressing matters came up. you know how females can be...

3/28/09 - Matthew Gray, Nick Foreman, Nana & Popo

went to my very first house show in denton (if you don't count the Secret Headquarters shows), a fund-raiser for The Bee's Fifth Collective. i think it was at matthew gray's house (he of Matthew and the Arrogant Sea fame, one of my favorite local bands). 'twas a very interesting experience - pretty much what i expected from a house show - keg set up in the corner, bunch of college kids sittin around, amps and mics set up in a spare room, minimal lighting (thus the crappy pics). pretty cool. took a fellow music-lover to the show - we were easily twice everyone's age, but i felt totally comfortable there. i sooo love denton.

nana & popo was up first. one dude, one guitar, lotsa effects. some really cool, dreamy, fuzzed-out stuff. really liked it. Nick Foreman, of Dust Congress (who i've seen twice), was up next. this is one talented dude. he played accordian, guitars, drums. great voice. nice collection of soulful, bluesy songs. Next up was Matthew Gray (yea, that's him in the pic - he apparently is afraid of the light). Seen him many times with MATAS, and once solo. Another very talented guy. Had the whole crowd singin along with him. Love his song-writing, his voice. So since my companion kept FALLING ASLEEP between sets, we decided to hit the road after Matthew.

3/22/09 - Paul Banks, Quote

went to the effin cavern for an early sunday show. really appreciate them doin that sort of thing for us 9-to-5 folks. HOWEVER, if you put on your website that you're gonna start at 8:30, then godammit, start at 8:30!! we (myself and the illustrious green-eyed greek gal) got there at 8:30, only to catch the last few bars of The Subjects' set. which pissed me off to no end, since i was intrigued by what i heard on myspace. i mean - wtf? you're gonna start EARLY? before the advertised start time?? goddam cavern. so, great start to the evening.

Quote, from Nashville, was up next. Two dudes, both on acoustic guitar. Nice harmonies. Some decent folky acoustic pop, but nothing that really grabbed me. I was there to see the genius of Paul Banks, from austin. i saw him a couple of times a couple years ago, and fell in love with his music (see this), and i'd been waiting and waiting for him to come back. my buddy Joe the Boy Toy, a fellow PB fanatic, was there also, with his lovely ladyfriend.

unfortunately, i don't really remember much of paul's set. i'm afraid i over-indulged - either that, or someone slipped me a roofie, cuz i spent the rest of the show in a semi-catatonic state on the couch in the back (thank gawd the GREGG was driving). i do remember thinking a couple of times, "hey, i know that song", but that's about it. soory. Joe assures me that, despite the fact that paul's voice was a bit weak after all the SXSW shows (for which he apologized), it was an awesome set. it was a stripped down version of the band - only Paul and one other - so it wasn't the rockin show i saw before, but we were assured he would be coming back soon with the full band. be sure to catch that if you can - this guy is truly awesome.