6/6/09 - Brutal Juice, The Boom Boom Box, The Phuss, Spitfire Tumbleweeds, Daily Beats

headed to dan's for the annual BBQ bash.


first up was The Daily Beat. pretty decent punk, tho fairly average (except for the sweet lookin' gal on keys, who was above average ;). anyways, nice job.


next up was Spitfire Tumbleweeds, and my gawd, was i blown away. i normally don't get too excited about their kind of stuff (southern rock/alt-country/americana), but their gritty, rockin' performance made me a believer. seemed like there were as many guys on stage as in the audience. very talented group. never heard scott porter (of Record Hop fame) sing, but damn, was he good. loved the multi-part harmonies, too. can't wait to catch these guys again soon.

next up was the Phuss, filling in for Dead Twins (nuts!). two guys, one on guitar, one on drums. some pretty hard-rockin', bluesy stuff.

next up was The Boom Boom Box, featuring remnants of Baboon, Ghostcar, and Pleasant Grove. totally fell in love with this band. hard to describe - kinda dark, trippy, brooding, but super-catchy indie rock. opened with Shivers (see the myspace page), which absolutely kicked my ass. 'twas funny to see the lead singer from Baboon still obsessed with bunching his pants up around his package. anyways, i was enthralled - will definitely look to catch them again soon - they might be headed towards the top of my "local favorites" list.

last up was the legendary Brutal Juice, at the end of a short reunion tour. some pretty hardcore metal, even approaching death-metal at times. not exactly my cup o' tea, but the energy up on stage and in the room was amazing. 'twas cool to see people at a show in denton (or anywhere, for that matter) actually moving. fun stuff.

5/30/09 - Little Black Dress, Stereo is a Lie, Colour Wheel

gonna make this quick, cuz i really didn't like this show

first up was Colour Wheel, from austin. lotsa guitars and one sax. hmm, not so sure about havin a saxophone in a rock band. anyways - didn't really grab me, found it very ordinary. next up was Stereo is a Lie, also from austin. again, nothing remarkable, except for the fact that their outfits were coordinated and all-black. how cuuute!

last up was Little Black Dress, the new band of Toby Pipes of Deep Blue Something and BPL fame. i saw LBD's last song at the Texas music showcase back in march and liked it (although i did comment about toby's wispy vocals). well, their last song must be their best, cuz man, i did not enjoy what i heard on saturday. and again, it was toby's vocals that bugged me the most. surely there's got to be someone else in the band who can belt it out. ok, maybe his vocals fit the kind of shoegazy feel their goin for, but it was drivin me crazy and i just wasn't diggin it. left early.

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.

5/23/09 - The Octopus Project, This Will Destroy You, Ume

headed to yet another show at the granada, which is quickly becoming my favorite venue (alas, what's happened to you, club dada?)...

i could not believe the crowd at this show - absolutely packed. never seen it so full. maybe because it was all-ages? dono, but it was great to see a full house in dallas for once.

Ume was up first. i've seen these guys a few times now, and i swear they get better every time. they totally brought down the house with their ass-kicking, high-energy, snarling but very catchy brand of guitar rock, with Lauren at her whirling-dervish finest (how the hell does she still manage to play, as she thrashes about like a woman possessed?). truly awesome. probably the highlight of the evening for me.

This Will Destroy You was up next. 5-piece post-rock instrumental band. they definitely have the whole ambient, dark, atmospheric, epic Explosions-in-the-Sky vibe down pat. they are very good at what they do, but to me, all the songs started to sound the same after a while (at one point i actually asked my date, isn't this the first song they played? and i was only half-kidding). i've said it before - if you're gonna make a go of it as an instrumental outfit, you've really gotta have something special, and you've really gotta work hard at mixin' things up to keep it fresh (see below for inspiration...). kudos to the drummer, whose energy was the only thing keepin the crowd awake (kidding!)

The Octopus Project headlined, and they were awesome. what a blast they were to watch - tons of interaction with the crowd, lots of cuttin' up and general goofiness - i loved it, and you could tell they loved what they were doin, too. super-high-energy performance with beautiful theremin solos, very cool electronic beats, all layered with aggressive guitar riffs and keys. and what an extremely talented bunch, too - seemed like everyone played every instrument on the stage at some point. this is the kind of band you watch and say, goddam, i'd give my left nut to be in a band like that - how much fun would that be? don't miss this band if you can help it...

5/16/09 - The Dears, Great Northern, Eulogies

this was an example of a show that i really thought i would get into, but ended up falling fairly flat...

Eulogies, from LA, was up first. four-piece band, fairly straight-forward indie guitar pop, pretty low-key, pleasant tunes. well written and well executed, but they all started sounding the same after a bit...

Great Northern, also from LA, were up next. Again - pretty standard indie pop, although with a harder and darker edge than Eulogies. Nice sharing of vocal duties between male and female leads. Dono what it was, I usually get into that kind of stuff, but it just failed to grab me. Maybe a tad too earnest? Dono. Still, I'd give them another chance if they came thru town again.

headlining was The Dears, from Montreal. I wasn't overly enthralled with what i'd heard on myspace and youtube, but they are supposedly known for putting on a great live show, so i took the gamble. things started out really well, with the lead leaning up against the sound booth at the back of the room with a wireless mic, singing a beautiful, nearly acapella song (using a recorded track only - no band on the stage at this point). people started catching on as he walked towards the stage, and he was soon surrounded by the crowd as he crooned soulfully into the mic. eventually, the band came out on stage and added their voices to finish the song. 'twas a very cool moment. unfortunately, for me, that was the highlight of the show. don't get me wrong, they played a very solid set of sometimes-poppy, sometimes-lush-and-ethereal, but always heart-felt tunes, but i just kept waiting for the next song to really grab me, and it just never happened. nothing they did had the kind of spark of that first song (at least, to me). however, there were many hardcore fans there who left fully satisfied, so...

5/9/09 - The Paper Chase, Astronautilis, Valina

holy shit, what an amazing night at the granada. i'm starting to fall in love with that place, despite the high cover charges and expensive drinks. that sound system is amazing.


Valina was up first. they hail from Austria, and have played with the Paper Chase in Europe. And oh my gawd, were they fantastic. I mean, that was one of the best sets I have seen in a long, long time (and i've seen my share). I loved it. Very unique song structures, absolutely amazing drum work, had elements of hardcore metal, noise-rock and math-rock. Some songs almost sounded a bit like Austrian folk songs (or at least, what I think those would sound like). Wonderfully complex, beautiful stuff. Ended up buying both the EP and the CD. Gave 'em every last dollar i had on me - you gotta support those touring bands.

Astronautilis continued the greatness. Never seen him before, even though he comes thru quite a bit. Phenomenally talented dude, and funny/smart as hell. I knew he was a rapper, but i didn't realize how much more to his music there was. What a fantastic, emotion-filled growl of a voice - sounded very Tom Waits-like sometimes. Armed with only a laptop, he'd kick off a track, then sing, rap and flail around the stage much like a televangelist in a religious fury. It was an awesome spectacle - i could not take my eyes off him. an incredible, emotional, high-energy performance. I vowed that night to never miss another one of his shows, if i could help it. woulda bought his new CD, if i hadn't given all my cash to Valina.

The Paper Chase capped off the night with an amazing set full of their brand of slightly off-kilter, strangely structured but very catchy and highly entertaining tunes. energetic frontman John Congleton did not disappoint (at least, me), flailing around the stage (lots of flailing that night), punctuating many of his lines with his trademark expectoration (sure hope he doesn't have swine flu). thought the keyboard playing and vocals by sean were great (but you knew I'd say that). anyways, it was an awesome set to finish off an awesome night.

5/8/09 - Guns 4 Roses, Green Manalishi

headed to the LBG to check out my buddy's new GNR tribute band. knuckles came with, and joe the boy toy showed up, too.

Green Manalishi opened, offering up a nice collection of southern rock covers. I didn't recognize most of the songs, which is great, being as how I am generally not a fan of covers. Anyways, thot they were pretty talented.

Guns 4 Roses headlined. I'm not exactly a big GNR fan (k, not even a little one), but these guys put on quite a show. full costumes, authentic guitars (so i'm told), and everything. the frontman definitely had the whole axl rose thing down, flailin' about just like you see in the videos. anyways, they put on a very solid two-hour show, fully satisfying all the hard-core GNR fans in the place.

5/4/09 - Paul Slavens

Finally caught the legendary Paul Slavens weekly show at Dan's on a Monday night, thanks to the swine flu (long story). If you've never seen this show, it's a must-do, at least once. Paul and a very talented group of musicians take (usually extremely inappropriate) song title suggestions (along with donations) from the audience, and come up with a completely improvised and fully-created song. Very impressive to behold, and very funny. Check it out.

5/2/09 - Pinebox Serenade, The Heelers, The Furrows

ended up at dan's in denton, with the two aforementioned cougars. fun times for all...

somehow forgot my camera, so no crappy pics. you're welcome.


The Furrows from Mississippi were up first. Some very cool bluesy, soulful southern rock. Dug the voice on the lead. Very good, really enjoyed it.


The Heelers were up next, and I thought they were great as well. Similar to The Furrows' style, maybe a bit more country. Good stuff.


Pinebox Serenade headlined. Very large group of very talented individuals. Some very nice folky, blue-grassy tunes.

4/25/09 - The O's, Romp Almighty, Kings of the Rabbit Trail

headed to the cavern (ugh) for Romp Almighty's cd release, cuz you know i loves me some Romp Almighty.


Kings of the Rabbit Trail were up first, and holy shit, are these guys good. can't believe i haven't stumbled onto them before (although they apparently just played their first show in January). Phenomenal voice on the lead, and just as great - the harmonies from the bass player - what a fantastic voice. incredible set full of bluesy, garage-rockish sorta stuff. totally awesome. totally kicked my ass. can't wait to see them again.

next up was Romp Almighty, and good gawd, i swear these guys get better every time i see them. absolutely phenomenal set full of songs that are alternately catchy, hard-rockin, beautifully haunting, and quirky. wonderful stuff. bought the CD, which is absolute fuckin genius.
last up was The O's. i swear, i'll never understand the music biz. ok, sure these guys are talented, but in the end, what's the big deal? it's just two dudes, one on geetar and one on banjo. and yet, they've generated such a huge buzz in this town. but i'll be damned, compared to the two opening acts? snoozeville.

4/19/09 - Robert Gomez

headed to Good Records to catch Robert Gomez' cd release shindig.


i've been a fan of robert's for a while now - that dude can write some incredibly beautiful songs. was very impressed this time by the keyboard/effects guy as well - he adds an amazing amount to the sound of the band. and as always - i love the addition of the brass instruments - love that. anyways, it was a wonderful set. bought the cd. suggest you do, too.

video coming soon, hopefully...

4/18/09 - The Lymbyc Systym, Loxsly,Florene

gonna keep this one short and sweet - got some catching up to do.


headed to hailey's to catch Florene, who i hadn't seen in a while. was met there by two of denton's finest cougars. gawd help you denton boys, with these two on the loose.


Florene kicked things off. Seemed like a very different set from what i heard last, and i missed some of my favorite songs, but i loved it just the same. love those guys.

Loxsly was up next. I'd heard them once before and dug it. Can't say I remember anything about their set that night, tho. i'm sure it was great. (soory!)
The Lymbyc System, from brooklyn/austin, headlined. beautiful, beautiful stuff. usually just two guys, one on keys and one on drums, with lots of effects. sometimes joined by a violinist, which was a really nice addition. really dug it.

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.

3/17/09 - The Airborne Toxic Event, Alberta Cross, Henry Clay People

headed to the Loft, mainly to catch the greatness of The Airborne Toxic Event. knuckles came with.

first things first - for the love of all that is holy, will someone please install a goddam exit to Lamar from west-bound I30? dear gawd, what a pain in the ass. my map and instructions had so many moving parts it made my head hurt.

anywho, Henry Clay People, from LA, was up first. some nice, good-timey rock-n-roll, with a touch of the south. 'twas pretty good, tho not exactly my thing. got peeved when they closed with a cover of 'Honkytonk Women' - can't stand it when a band closes with a cover.

Alberta Cross, from Brooklyn, was up next. Some soulful, good-timey rock, maybe a bit darker than HCP. definite hints of CSNY. 'twas pretty good as well.

The Airborne Toxic Event headlined, and omg, this is now my Favorite New Band (move over (ever so slightly), Frightened Rabbit). what an awesome performance. an amazing collection of soaring, dark, catchy, anthemic, beautiful songs. absolutely wonderful violin playing, love the deep voice on the lead. my gawd, what a fantastic, uplifting experience. i was in heaven for the whole set. even knuckles was clapping along and woo-hooing for the band, something i'm not sure i've ever seen. it was just that damn good.

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