10/16/08 - Bart Davenport, Nervous Curtains, Cocky Americans

another thursday night at Club Dada - good times, good times.

Cocky Americans were up first, and these guys were fantastic. 4-man band: 3 guitars and drums. not the kind of stuff i usually get into - definitely very guitar-intensive, sometimes with a smoldering bluesy southern-rock groove, sometimes more Strokes-like, sometimes with a Doors vibe (but maybe only because Brett's vocal style (which i really dug) reminded me of Morrison sometimes) - but i loved it. very talented musicians, very polished performance, will definitely try to catch them again soon.up next was Nervous Curtains. what else can i say about these guys that i haven't said before? i've gone to see Sean so many times now, my buddies tease me that we must be dating (p.s. i am not gay). all i'll say is - go see this band and check out the new material - you won't be disappointed.Bart Davenport, from california, headlined. some very sugary, super-twee 60's pop - really well done, but not really my thing. did enjoy the harmonies from the gal on tambourine, tho.

9/6/08 - Sean Kirkpatrick, Baboon, Red Monroe

jeezchrist what a royal clusterfuck saturday night turned out to be. pretty sure i shoulda gone to dan's instead. ya, pretty sure.

lineup at dada was supposed to be Glen Reynolds, 2/3rds of PPT, Baboon, and Red Monroe (in that order). when i showed up, beard tells me the lineup is Red Monroe first, then Baboon, Roy Ivy, Frankie 45, and PPT. wtf? crazy-ass music biz.

The Les Savy Fan came out wif his friend Scott, both mos definitely on the prowl. Amazing number of hot chicks in the crowd, like i've never seen before at dada. LSF tells me it was deceiving, tho - they were all attached (yes, he checked. yes, all of them).

first up was Red Monroe, only it wasn't. eric steele was MIA, and some dude from Mission to the Sea was in his place (which i knew in advance, thanks to josephus). Was kinda interested to hear how all my favorite RM songs would sound without Eric, but it didn't happen - i recognized one RM song (blue mountain air, one of my favorites), but the rest was i dono what. must've been a bunch of MTTS material, cuz i didn't know any of it. don't get me wrong, i actually liked it quite a bit, and i'll be checking out MTTS, but i loves me some RM, and i was really lookin forward to seein them.
next up was Baboon. they was aight, but i couldn't figure out what was up with the lead - there was definitely Something Very Wrong With His Pants, or maybe he just has Pants Issues. Either he had forgotten his belt and was grabbing his pants to keep them from falling down, or he was trying to hike them up so we could all see his perty shoes, or he was trying to bunch up the material around his package to make it look bigger. i dono, but it was very distracting, and kept the LSF and I chuckling thru the whole set. anyways, it was some pretty good high-energy, slightly-shouty post-punk. heard weezer on some songs, too.
near the end of the set, my man pete shows up and asks if i'm goin to see sean k at the lounge. now, i knew sean was playin there, but i thot i was gonna have to miss him cuz he would play the same time as Red Monroe, but now that things were all fucked up, i realized i could catch him. and so's i did. thanks, petey.

so i stumbled down to the lounge and paid my second cover of the night (so you know i must've been feelin pretty happy). it was a gutterth thing, so there was the usual gutterth trappings everywhere - tv's playing snow, projected images on a screen on the stage, and that one dude who's always front and center, rocking back and forth like he's at the wailing wall, and over-clapping like mad. nah, just kiddin, i love those gutterth guys, they do good work. sean had his full band with him (they are apparently now called "Nervous Curtains"), just like last week, and it absolutely kicked ass. they seem to be coming together more and more each week, as they fine-tune the new material. the addition of Ian's dark synths and Robert's pounding drums make sean's material come alive and kick you in the nuts. and maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like it was definitely harder-rockin than last week. this is no namby-pamby piano pop stuff, folks, it'll kick your ass. absolutely loved the whole set (as i always do).

went back to dada, where LSF and scott were still hangin out, listening to what had to be The Worst Crap I Have Ever Heard. it was 2/3rds of PPT, plus some guy on acoustic guitar. so there were two guys hip-hoppin/rappin, plus the guy playin guitar and singing the most godawful stuff ever (mostly in falsetto, it seemed). they were tryin to get the crowd into it (throw yer hands up, etc.), but no one was buyin it. seriously, what a bizarre and unpleasant combination. maybe it was performance art of some sort? dono, but i found it unbearable. LSF and friend headed to the doublewide (where they apparently attempted to sabotage Kim Pendleton's marriage), and i went back to the lounge to catch The Great Tyrant, which i instantly regretted (a sean k reference, heh heh). i admit, i have pretty narrow taste in music, so i cannot objectively judge bands in genres i don't like (see above), but jeezchrist are you serious? i couldn't take more than one song. sorta like goth screamo death-metal? 3-man band, one goth dude in all black playin keys, plus ZZ-top wannabe on guitar, and drums. mos def not for me.all in all, a very unsatisfying night, only saved from disaster status by my man sean kirkpatrick (and band).

8/28/08 - Sean Kirkpatrick Trio, Jack with One Eye, Silk Stocking

headed down to club dada on thursday night to catch sean kirkpatrick. 'twas pretty strange - i didn't recognize any of the staff in the whole joint. hmmpf. not like the good ol' days.

first up was silk stocking (my second time to see 'em, my first time to remember it). loved it. two-man band - Liz on keys and vocals, and Shawn on drums, guitar, and tambourine. really dug what i heard - Liz's howling, gut-wrenching vocals on top of a bluesy, dirge-like mixture of piano and guitar. very unique, very talented. look forward to hearing them again.

next up was jack with one eye. 3-man band - guitars, keys, drums. some pretty good psychedelic-infused shoegaze. vocals an afterthought (or maybe they were just mixed down too low). kept firin off some pre-recorded voice tracks spouting political rhetoric, but i hate to tell 'em - you couldn't really hear/understand much of it. i heard "war in iraq", that's about it. anyways, 'twas an enjoyable set.

last up was the incomparable sean kirkpatrick, with a full band backing him (and by "full band", i mean Ian on synth, and Robert on drums). been a while since i've seen the trio. you know from my previous posts how much i've fallen in love with the solo stuff i've heard over the past few months, including the new stuff on the crazy jeff show podcast, but i have to say - having the full band backing sean added a fantastic new dimension to the music. i cannot wait for him to hit the studio (probably this winter, according to sean) and record his new stuff - it is incredibly good.

8/15/08 - Ella Minnow, Bee vs. Moth, Timeline Post, Sean Kirkpatrick

headed out to hailey's, mainly to hear sean k, but it turned out to be a pretty good night overall.

sean kirkpatrick - seen him more times than i can count, and he slays me every time. he's just one of those songwriters that writes song after song that absolutely resonate with me. would love to know who he listens to - pretty sure i'd love it. his set list is definitely transitioning from first album material to a bunch of new stuff, which is all incredible. (you can hear some of the new material on the crazy jeff show page or the gutterth page, and i suggest you do). did a beautiful amy winehouse cover. i've said it before - sean is one of the very few artists whose covers i enjoy, cuz he does such a great job of making them his own. heard 'life without chocolate' live for the first time - one of my favorites from his album. an outstanding set. sean will be performing with his full band at club dada on the 28th - check it out. timeline post - 2nd time to see these guys - liked it much better this time. 6-man band - 4 guitars, keys and drums. some outstanding, dreamy, wall-of-sound guitar pop (didn't hear the keys too much). only problem - music that strong needs some kick-yer-ass vocals to stand above it, and the lead just doesn't have that kind of voice. probably works fine on a recording, but live, his vocals just got drowned out on every song. can't help but think that some beefy vocals would kick it up a notch. really dug the set, tho. bee vs. moth - um, no thanks. not a fan of jazz. cornet, bari sax, guitar, bass (sometimes upright), drums. seemed like they were good at it, but i just don't dig that stuff. ella minnow - holy shit, ella minnow kicked my ass. totally different take on them vs. the first time i saw 'em. songs kinda all over the map - some early-radioheadish stuff, some bluesy numbers, some 4/4 downbeat-happy songs, some wall of sound anthemic rock, some instrumentals - and all of it was fantastic. lead reminded me of stephen duncan (of chemistry set "fame"), except on speed. lead vox strong (great falsetto), if not exactly conventional (sometimes he reminded me of squiggy from laverne and shirley), but it worked. super-high energy, too - both the lead and the (cape-wearing) key/sax-player were spazzes, injecting the show with tons of energy. man, i loved it. can't wait to see 'em again. (soory for the crappy pic)

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...

1/23/07 - Nick Luca, Sean Kirkpatrick, Telegraph Canyon

snagged a mid-week show at dada, since i'll be tied up all weekend. gotta feed the beast when you can...

no Beard at the door - wtf? i thought that dude never left that stool.

first up was Telegraph Canyon. i'd seen these guys last march, and it's taken this long to finally catch them again. my gawd, was i glad i did. they were even better than i remembered. 6 people on stage (plus beard), sometimes 7. lotsa geetars, plus keys, accordian, harmonica. an absolutely beautiful collection of folk rock tunes, some joyful, some wistful, some stirring. all incredibly written and wonderfully performed. love chris johnson's voice - not that it's a big booming voice or anything, but it's just got such character. this was easily the highlight of the evening for me. totally dug the addition of the organ (soulful, bill h called it). gal on keys drove my pants crazy. bot the cd (with a little help from debbie (thanks!)) and gushed at Chris for a sec after the show. will definitely not wait another year to catch these guys again.

next up was the Sean Kirkpatrick trio, who i've seen many times now, and i don't know what it was, but this was easily the best performance of theirs that i've seen. don't get me wrong, i've liked it every time i've seen them, but last night topped them all. maybe it was the environment, the sound system, or a slightly different set, i don't know. there did seem to be less of the seemingly-random key plinking that i whinged about last time. whatever - it was an awesome set. oh, and sean knows the two secrets to doing a great cover: one - pick the right damn song (very rarely done, IMO), and two - make it your own. totally dug 'jesus and tequila'. i did miss 'turn on the interference', tho.

last up was Nick Luca, from tucson, who plays with calexico, DeVotchka, and Niko Case. 4-man band, all geetars. based on the myspace, i expected straightforward indie rock, but what i heard was more folk-influenced with a tinge of alt-country. some very nice songs, some talented geetar playing. maybe it's because i was still so smitten by telegraph canyon, but what kept coming to mind during their set was, this is telegraph-canyon lite. not sayin it wasnt good stuff or anything, but i thot they lacked the depth and character of TC.

definitely had too much to drink, which led to (guess what?) me babbling incoherently at debbie, brian, and amanda. mebbe that should be my catch phrase - babbling incoherently. seems to be a recurring theme.

12/29/07 - Sean Kirkpatrick, Bridges and Blinking Lights

started off the night with knuckles at mckinney tavern, local watering hole and, at least last night, supermodel hangout. tried to watch the aggie game amidst all the distractions. left at 10 to head to the doublewide, and unbelievably, knuckles came with, after performing an inhuman feat involving an entire pitcher of beer, and despite the record-setting scenery at the MT.

doublewide was a pretty hapnin place - shoulder to shoulder in the bar, not so much in the live music area (nothin unusual there). knuckles thot the stamp of a boot that we got on our hands looked like a penis - paging dr. freud.

bridges and blinking lights was up first. saw these guys at RGRS, but wanted to see them again to confirm or refute my original impression. unfortunately, it was confirmed - these guys can rock, but i'm sorry, the lead vocals have got to go. knuckles said exactly the same thing, without me even telling him what i had originally thot. the dude tries to belt it out, but he just doesn't have the voicebox for it. as knuckles said, you're just dyin for him to grab his sack and belt it out (think Ian Johnson from Hogpig (R.I.P.)), but he just can't. maybe it sounds better on a cd, but it just doesnt work live. anyways, like i said, the songwriting, geetar and drum work was nice.

Sean kirkpatrick headlined. second time to see him. this guy's got some major talent - he definitely knows his way around a keyboard. once again, some really cool, well-written, unconventional piano-pop songs. it's amazing how a piano-based trio can still make you groove out with only three instruments - just sean on keys, a dude on synth and a drummer. thot the drummer was aces. if i had to pick on somethin, there were a couple times where i thot the whole stop-the-music-so-sean-can-plink-out-some-discordant-and-seemingly-random-keys on the keyboard seemed kind of forced and out of place. a minor criticism, really. other than that, a really great set.

after zini's (where knuckles attempted to steal my alternate-universe girlfriend), stopped by my beloved club dada to chat with the crazy Bat-Lady of Deep Ellum. a great way to end the evening.

10/25/07 - Parata, Sean Kirkpatrick (updated)

Went to RGRS to see Sean K and Parata.

i apologize in advance - this report will not be up to the usual standards (hah!), due to a few factors, mainly related to the firewater (no, not the club).

New Science Projects - one man in army jacket and WWII helmet, with acoustic blues (?) guitar and tambourine on the floor, upon which he would stomp now and again. couldn't tell if he was special needs or trippin massively, at one point held up a piece of paper and said, see - my friend made me a picture drawn in his own blood! so is this performance art, i wondered? during one song, he started wandering around the crowd, shout-singing in peoples faces. dude had talent, could play the geetar, but there was a lot of violent shouting going on. but then he would stop down and play a nice acoustic song with pretty vocals and some nice picking.
very interesting, i'll say that.

gutterth guys in back screaming after every song - yeaaaaaahhh!! annoying.

Silk Stocking - gal on keybd, dude on guitar - bluesy tunes, howling vocals (i'm sorry, it's around this point that my memory starts getting fuzzy).

sean kirkpatrick - was really looking forward to this, based on what i'd heard on the interweb. sean on keybds, another dude on keybds, drum. all i remember is that it sounded like what you'd expect, based on the myspace page. not exactly hard-rockin, what with just two keyboards and all, but that's what his stuff is. i still plan on gettin his cd.

christened the bathroom.

last was Parata, who i'd seen before and really dug. dono what it was, but i didn't really get into it this time. can't splain why.

60 degrees outside, and the damn ceiling fans were on full blast, freezin my ass off.

four bands to play, and they start at 10?? ridiculous. didn't finish til 1:30-ish, on a weeknight, with a half-hour drive home. couldn't they at least start at 9?