12/06/08 - the cut*off, beauxregard, the demigs

went to andy's in denton, wif muh buddy tk

the demigs, who tk is now even more totally gay for, started things off. pretty good, i thought. tk liked the new alt-countryish stuff they played. he spent a lot of time beatin down chris demiglio after the set, setting up some sort of after-hours rendevous at a recording studio or somethin. he is so gay for them...after the set, we wandered around the square. public property was attacked, santa was saved, trees were climbed, and tailbones were cracked. good times.

next up was Beauxregard, who i've seen many times. always enjoy their set. good stuff, and very well done. added bonus of a guitar-shaped pinata, which spewed some much-needed munchies. first time to see front-man J Quincy in something other than his usual all-white outfit. last up was the cut*off. seen these guys many times also - see previous write-ups. great stuff, as usual. always get "it's a beautiful life we live" stuck in my head for days after hearing them. went to fuzzy's taco shop afterwards - damn good stuff. back at home, someone decided to fertilize my lawn with fish tacos. good times...

6/21/08 - Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Beauxregard, Frankie 45, Pet Hospital

gonna keep this one short and sweet - i'm in one of those 'why the hell do i bother' moods. again, sorry for the crappy pics and video.

went to Sons of Hermann Hall for the Art Con SEED Event on saturday night. huge crowd (most undoubtedly there for the art auction, not the music). first up was Pet Hospital, who i've seen multiple times. very laid-back set - seemed like 80% of it was just Steven by himself, channeling Thom Yorke (while the rest of the band chatted amongst themselves on stage). not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, it's just different from the room-filling rockin sound i'm used to from those boys. maybe they were throttling back because of the audience/environment.
Spector 45 was supposed to play next, but only Frankie 45 played due to some sort of mix-up or scheduling problem. it was nice (dude's got some talent), but i was definitely in the mood to get my ass kicked by the full band. next time, eh? (dear gawd, that pic is awful. sorry, frankie.) Beauxregard was up next. 'twas the same fun-filled retro new-wave pop i saw last time. good stuff.
last up was Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, one of my favorite local bands (see write-up here). they were outstanding as usual, although the set lacked the magic of that night at Dan's, which is totally my fault for letting the environment get to me - the lights were up, people were milling about and hobnobbing, etc. Made it hard for me to lose myself in the music. despite all that, i still enjoyed the set. those guys rule.

outtie...

3/29/08 - The Slack, Pet Hospital, Beauxregard, Land Mammals

ok, this entry will be subtitled, The One That Overuses Capital Letters. Why? cuz i WANT to.

went to the liquid lounge, mainly to see pet hospital, but also wanted to check out the slack. small place, but the layout somehow makes it work. great sound system, too. also like the outdoor patio, to where you can stumble with your drink, if you're so inclined.

the tim harrigan groupie (THG) and batman, both flying solo, showed up too. THG, mebbe not understanding that i had just front-loaded my full compliment of oh-so-unpremium vodka, bought me a rumandcoke, thereby officially puttin me Over The Edge. understand, i am not complaining. but henceforth after that, i was not exactly in the kind of shape to critically analyze, or even sorta remember, what i was seeing/hearing. so, fair warning.

very young and squishy crowd at the lounge - prolly due to the youngish nature of some of the bands. nice.

first up was land mammals, a 4-man band straight outta irving. lead singer separated at birth from rivers cuomo. these guys were a riot. i hope to gawd they were supposed to be, at least some of the time. 1st song featured one of the guitar players doin a really really awful falsetto, but i think that was the desired effect. i can tell you, it had me in stitches. i got the giggles, and couldn't stop - it killed me. anyhows, after that, the rivers lookalike (The Man With The Impossibly Deep Voice For His Body Size) took over (loved his voice, btw). these dudes played some totally catchy, quirky, but at times rockin indie pop. excellent stuff. they even whipped out a trumpet and trombone at one point - love that. really dug the unusual songs, really appreciate that kind of creativity. kind of hard to describe their stuff (see above), but i know i totally dug it. will definitely want to catch them again.

next up was beauxregard, The Band of Many Many Skinny Ties. really wasn't sure what to expect, based on their myspace (thot it might be a bit too retro for me), but i can tell you, i loved what i heard - lookin at my cellphone outbox, i called them "fukin crazy awesome". 5 or 6 people on stage (soory), including Hot Chick on Keys. most of the band members seemed to be almost in my age bracket (encouraging to us oldsters). some really catchy, crowd-pleasin retro-ish pop, very well performed. good-timey stuff, really good. another one to catch a second time.

walked over to the curtain club between sets and reaffirmed my hatred of screamo. seems like no matter when you poke your head into that place, it's always the same-soundin shit (excluding, of course, batman's band - them guys are great). saw scotty mankoff in the entry hallway makin some drunkass chick pose like a porn star for some pictures. THG wanted to know if she'd do that for a cellphone camera. we didn't ask her.

next up was pet hospital, who kicked my ass as usual (3rd time to see 'em - reviews here and here). 3-man outfit, but with an amazing ability to fill a room with sound. seemed like the set was more like the first time i saw 'em - more hard-rockin stuff than the 2nd time. don't let the myspace fool you - these guys can rock out. seems like steven is getting more and more confident with his vocals - i thot he sounded great last night. 'twas a fantastic set.

last up was the slack, and holy shit, these guys are in a completely different league, at least as far as musical talent goes. unbelievable amount of talent on stage. chris holt is an absolutely phenomenal musician - i don't think i've seen anyone dominate the guitar quite like he does. it was amazing, i can't say that enough. loved his voice, loved eric's harmonies, loved the keys. all the songs finely crafted and expertly performed. if you appreciate virtuoso guitar playing, do yourself a favor and check these guys out.

went to zini's, as usual, but again my beloved was not there - starting to get worried that she might be seeing someone else. THG, batman, and I chatted w/ brian aboot the music biz until the wee-est of hours of the mornin.

great line-up at the lounge - kudos to lion dog records for puttin in together.