9/16/10 - Western Giants, MATAS

At Lochranns in Frisco.

Western Giants (Denton) were up first. Just for fun, i thought I'd share the "conversation" my intrepid companion and I "had" on an iphone Notes page during their set:

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Me: Not a great voice, eh?

Me: Lead singer from sundress? {googling followed}

Me: Yes. Shud stick to guitar playing. He's phenomenal in sundress, tho

Me: Warning - I will be singing along w Matthew. At the top of my lungs, most likely

She: Bassist looks good. Maybe they shud put him in front. Doesn't look gay at all in v neck.

Me: At least one of them has a girlfriend - chick w camera.

She: Ok, bassist just checked me out.

She: Waitress cute w shirt too. Didn't really see any of the rest of her.

She: Does the bassist keep making eye contact w u?
Me: I'm not lookin at him. U?
She: Good point.
Me: Ok, maybe I've noticed that, yes, but there's no one here, so..,
He's fascinated by the old farts in the audience.
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And there you have it. fascinating stuff, right? anyhows, we enjoyed the set, tho i'm glad kennon has a day job in Sundress. MATAS (Denton) was up next. I did, indeed, sing along at the top of my lungs. Take THAT, Frisco.

7/17/10 - DOMA showcase

Better late then never, eh?

Twas glad this year's shindig was in the deepest of ellums - so much better than past showcases, held in douchebag central (otw known as lower Greenville).

First - Secret Machines. LOVE the SM, and not just cuz they popped my live music cherry (ouch!) back in 2006 at the lizard lounge. Howevers, this wasn't quite the same SM, being as how both Curtis brothers weren't in attendance. Twas either that, or the fact that my balls were in danger of melting, but I just didn't enjoy their set like I thot I would, despite the super-drunk/hot chicks dirty dancing wif each other just outside the (penitentiary-like) fence. Oh well, on to the next......which was The O's. Meh. Still don't get. But I admit - I hear the effing banjo, I have a hard time taking a band seriously. Just my bias, don't judge me!! Went to Trees to catch FUR, being as how I wanted to try out some new bands, & not just hear the same-o same-o. Curtain opened to reveal two dudes huddled behind two laptops. Me & my intrepid companion laughed heartily, then split. No fanks.

Went to the roof of The Bone & caught Nervous Curtains. Nuff said, u know I love the NC. Awesome, as always. Then off to the Door to catch Air Review. Another meh. Decent, but over-rated. Dime-a-dozen, in my opinion. Back to Trees to see Ishi, who I've been waiting to see a second time for a while now. Heard 2 songs and was done. Just not in the mood, especially since I knew MATAS was playing just down the street. So - back to the door, to once again get blown away by MATAS' genius. Just can't get enough of them, it seems. Then back to Trees for Mount Righteous. Fun! Last was Spooky Folk, back on top of the Bone (snicker). Great fun, lotsa exuberant dancing & such. Awesome cap to the evening.

5/26/10 - Clem Snide, Heligoats, MATAS

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea (Denton). Awesome, as usual. Seemed like they changed up the set from the last time i saw 'em - more of the old-style, folky MATAS, with less of the new-style rock-based stuff i've heard lately. Maybe they tailored the set to the Clem Snide crowd? Whatever - i loved it. The Heligoats (Washington). Saw these guys back in February and fell in love. "Quirky, catchy, smart, funny" is how i described them. This set confirmed my opinion (and love). Absolute genius. Chris once again had hilarious preambles for many of his songs (I'd repeat them here, but they're all of the 'you had to be there' variety). Fantastic set.

Clem Snide (Nashville). I dono - couldn't really connect with these guys. Wanted to - there was some really pretty stuff, with some great harmonies, but it just didn't happen. Probly just a touch too country for me.

5/7/10 - MATAS, Oh Lewis

Oh Lewis (Denton). Sure, some fine and dandy guitar pop rock. Kinda blah - nothing overly distinguishable.
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea (Denton). Sheer genius. Love the new stuff. Can't wait for the new album. Have to admit - I missed hearing Pretty Purple Top Hat.Yea, so OK, it was a Centromatic show, but for a number of undisclosable reasons (u know, life and all that shite), i wasn't up to staying. maybe if they hadn't taken the Longest Set Change in History, i woulda stayed, but they did, so i didn't.

7/10/09 - the pAper chAse, MATAS, Tre Orsi

...at Dan's.

Tre Orsi was up first. three-man band (thus the name, eh?). pretty good at what they were doin, but nothing overly memorable. my friend the cougar thought the drummer was very good, but probably just cuz she thot he was cute.
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea was up next and guess what - i thought they were awesome. 'magine that (see below for all the rave reviews). nice stop-down in the middle for a solo song by Matthew - beautiful stuff.
the pAper chAse headlined. wow, what a performance. loved it even more than the granada show a few weeks back. my gawd, those guys write some really unique, head-bobbin', hard-rockin' songs. john congleton is a mad-man on stage, flailing around, expectorating at every turn, laying hands on the crowd (there are demons to be exorcised, you know), etc. What an amazing, high-energy set. i will be buying that cd.

6/25/09 - Starlight Mints, Evangelicals, MATAS

...at the Granada. the Les Savy Fan showed, too.

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea opened. Awesome, as usual. You know I love this band, so I'm gonna refrain from repeating myself. See the (seemingly hundreds of) MATAS write-ups below if you wanna know more...
Evangelicals, from Norman, OK, were up next, and i'll be damned if i didn't i fall in love. there's not a whole lot on their myspace, so i didn't really know what to expect, and i was totally caught by surprise as song after song blew me away. a number of times i thought, wow, they really sound like James, both musically and vocally. other times there was a definite radiohead feel. whatever the influence, after every song i found myself thinking, holy shit, these guys are phenomenal. check them out if you get the chance.
Starlight Mints, also from Norman, headlined. i'm not the biggest Mints fan (that would be tk), but i was pleasantly surprised how much i enjoyed their set. while i find their recorded material not exactly to my taste, their live show was quirky, high-energy, catchy and ultimately a lot of fun. good stuff.

5/28/09 - Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Western Giants, This Old House

headed to the Lounge on a Thursday night to catch MATAS, cuz you know i loves me some MATAS.

first band (at least, that I saw) was This Old House from Denton. Man, I loved these guys. the genre they list on myspace is folk/americana, but that's not what i heard. granted, i missed a good portion of their set, and maybe all the folk tunes are up front. what i heard was very reminiscent of early radiohead, which is a wonderful thing, in my opinion. loved the soothing voice on the lead & the awesomely ethereal guitar work. really great stuff. will need to see more of their set to really understand what they're about, and i hope to be able to do that soon.

next up was Western Giants, also from denton. these guys were more traditional folk rock (not that there's anything wrong with that). voice on lead not quite as pleasing or strong as Ryan's from This Old House. still, an enjoyable set. side note - i'd guess someone in those two bands has a girlfriend in a sorority or something, cuz goddam, the jailbait was everywhere (and they all left after Western Giants played).

last up was Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, who have GOT to be one of the best bands playing in this area right now. i swear, they get better and better and i fall more and more madly in love with them everytime i see them. now that i've (finally) bought the cd, i've learned most of the songs, and can sing along at the top of my lungs, much to the chagrin of those around me, i'm sure. tough shit, i say. my hippo-sized balloooooon!! think i may have heard a new song, too, and it was amazing. anyways - a fantastic set, as usual.

3/7/09 - What Made Milwaukee Famous, Dove Hunter, Black Joe Lewis, Telegraph Canyon, The Orbans, MATAS, Doug Burr, the cut*off, Little Black Dress

endured the beating that is the HOB ($10 parking, service fees, $6 drinks) to catch what looked to be a great line-up of texas bands. had Sunshine in tow, and the Les Savy Fan showed, too.

once again, i was about the only one who paid attention to the "no photographic equipment" warning on the website - last time i'll do that. so all the pics are from my cell phone, and only from the main stage - sorry.

gonna keep it pretty brief - memory's fading...

showed up late, and only caught one song of the Little Black Dress set. liked what i heard, tho i wasn't crazy about the wispy lead vocals. will definitely try to catch a full set of theirs.

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea was up next, and despite the fact that they seem to have permanently adopted the one-drummer line-up, I loved them as usual. still don't like 'I'm No Snake' as a closer, but hey.

The Orbans - really enjoyed their set, much more than i did the last time i saw them. was especially impressed by peter's voice - fantastic. he reminded Sunshine of John Mayer. i think that's a compliment.
Doug Burr - just two band members that night, but damn that was some beautiful stuff. dude can write some awesome songs.
the cut*off - for some reason, i didn't enjoy this set as much as i usually do. kyle's voice sounded strangely reedy that night. Sunshine kept calling him Larry the Cable Guy.

Telegraph Canyon - how cool to see one of my favorites at such a great-sounding venue. awesome as usual - lots of great new stuff. definitely missed "You & Jane", tho.
Black Joe Lewis - blech. high-energy funk/r&b. definitely good at what they do, just not my thing at all.


Dove Hunter - i don't recall any of this set, which probably is a good indication of my interest. Sunshine thought the lead singer was wearing a yamulka.

What Made Milwaukee Famous - second time to see - good stuff

2/11/09 - Loney Dear, MATAS, Sunnybrook

headed to denton on thursday night, mainly to get my MATAS fix.

sunnybrook was up first. solo acoustic. i'd liked what i'd heard on myspace, but the presentation thursday night was very stripped down compared to that. still, some nice ethereal, airy acoustic tunes.Matthew and the Arrogant Sea was up next, and they were awesome as usual. see previous write-ups for a description of their sound and embarassing amounts of praise. seems like they've dropped to only one drummer now - dono if that's permanent or not - i hope not. and one tiny tiny complaint - i wish they'd stop closing with "i'm no snake". it's by far my least favorite MATAS song, and in my opinion, not one of their strongest. anywho, 'twas a great set. Loney, Dear headlined. they're from sweden, ja? they played a collection of catchy, folky, gentle acoustic pop songs, most with multi-part harmonies, which i love. frontman was very funny and engaging. reminded me of a calmer version of frightened rabbit, without the angst or (dare i say it?) passion. some really nice tunes, but overall, they didn't really connect with me (not their fault, you understand - just sayin).

12/3/08 - Robert Gomez, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea

went to dan's on wednesday night to catch MATAS and robert gomez.

matthew and the arrogant sea was up first, after returning from their recent tour. you know these guys are one of my favorite local bands. i cannot stress enough how much i love this band. see previous write-ups to find out why. check out their new release, "family family family meets the magic christian". you will thank me.
the robert gomez band was up next. i'd seen robert and crew a couple years ago and loved it, and wednesday night, i remembered why. that dude can write some absolutely amazing songs. he had a four-piece band that night, including keys, a french horn and a cello player. beautiful, haunting, phenomenal stuff. wish he would play around here more often.

7/19/08 - DOMA Showcase

absolutely had a blast last night at the DOMA showcase on lower greenville. was so excited to have a car full of buddies join me - batman, the piledriver, and knuckles all decided to make an appearance, which always makes for a better time. plus which, i managed to control my uh, intake and quite successfully ride that line between bliss and barfing (yay, me).

looked like the event was a success to me - big crowds everywhere, lotsa drunken hot chicks dancin (surely the measure of success for any event, eh?). did think it was strange, tho, that Live 105.3 was one of the big sponsors, since i really doubt they play (or have even heard of) any of the artists showcased. maybe i'm wrong.started out at the cavern, where The Frenz was playing. definitely liked the groove-filled guitar-heavy stuff, not so much the electronic stuff (which kept reminding me of buck rogers sound effects). the piledriver looked like he was about to slit his own throat. was hoping to hear one of their songs called "pete freedman is a cunt", but they didn't play it. maybe because pete was in the audience (although i woulda thot that would make them want to play it even more).chatted with the aforementioned pete during their set, and axed him why they didn't stagger start times (seems like an obvious thing to do). he said they might do that next year.

after that, the boys grabbed some pizza at the greenville ave pizza company. no alt-universe girlfriends to be found there, unfortunately.

next up was the backsliders. definitely some good-timey high-energy rock, with hot-chick lead (had a janis joplin vibe goin on). definitely NOT hard rock, the category they're nominated in, but that's neither here nor there. the piledriver was about to kick the guitar player's ass, cuz he kept tryin to steal the spotlight from janis. after watchin most of the backslider's set, i stumbled over to catch the end of glen reynold's set. i liked the little i heard - i think i should've gone there instead. definitely want to check out those guys in the future.
saw a couple shibboleth songs next. yes they are very talented, but i've seen them many times before, and i lose interest easily with (most) instrumental bands, so i split early.after a break on the roof of the Pubic House, headed back to the cavern to catch sean kirkpatrick. seen Sean many, many times, and i never get tired of it. such an amazing talent. last night, he went solo - no trio. before the set, i tried to talk him into playing "The Bottle Let Me Down" (a Merle Haggard cover he does that just slays me), but no dice. 'twas prolly for the best - i woulda made a fool outta myself belting out the lyrics at the top of my lungs. anyways, it was a great set.stuck around the cavern to catch Florene next, cuz you know i loves me some florene (review here). batman was there, too - he said gavin and aaron looked like they were on the junior-high AV team, what with all the equipment and them being so young and all (that batman, he so clever). heard two songs, which were awesome as usual, but i just couldn't stand the thought of missing Matthew and the Arrogant Sea (who are probably my favorite local band right now (review here)), who unfortunately were scheduled at the same time (stagger, dammit!!!). once again, they did not disappoint. this time, the crowd was big and noisy enough that i was able to sing along at the top of my lungs without botherin anybody (well, except for the guy right in front of me, maybe). And so i did. great set as usual. the highlight of the whole showcase for me.
stuck around for the first bit of salim nourallah and the noise's set. good stuff. i saw salim solo a couple times at dada and dug it, and the full band was a nice addition.went over to check on knuckles and the piledriver, who had gone to see Whiskey Folk Ramblers, who they are now totally gay for. WFR sounded a lot like AM Ramblers to me, meaning really good bluegrass. easily the highlight of the showcase for those two.about this time, batman's boyfriend showed up (i kid), and we all went back to the roof of Pubic House so they could spend some quality time together.so that's about it - all in all, a pretty damn fun night. wish this sorta thing would happen more often.

see you out there...