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...

6/19/08 - Telegraph Canyon, Birds and Batteries, Salim Nourallah, Lee Simmons

after my week-long vacation wif the kiddos, i was eager to feed the beast, so i headed to dada last night for the artist-in-residence show. turned out to be a pretty good night, thanks to a surprise (at least to me) addition to the line-up. the les savy fan showed, too, but i think he only went down there to hook up wif his new gal-pal (not that there's anything wrong with that).

first up was Lee Simmons, from Austin. did a nice solo acoustic set. very earnest. at one point, whipped out a ukelele. wouldn't mind seeing him with his full band (which is what i usually say aboot solo acoustic acts), but 'twas an enjoyable set.
next up was Salim Nourallah, this time backed up by John Lefler (who plays with Dashboard Confessional, according to Debbie, who seems to know who everyone is and who they've played with) for a few songs, then Chris Holt for a few. Both accompanists added a nice touch to Salim's stuff. Birds and Batteries, from San Fran, were next. really enjoyed these guys. hard to describe their sound - sometimes alt-countryish, sometimes 80's synth-y, sometimes straight-ahead rock, usually a beautiful melange of all three. really good stuff - very unique. would definitely like to catch them again (they seem to come thru here a lot, so keep an eye out).

and the surprise of the night - Telegraph Canyon played last. man, these guys are incredible. every time i see them, i appreciate them even more (see my previous write-up here). just an amazing combination - the folky acoustic guitar, the rockin electric guitar, plus the keys and organ, all accompanied by Chris' incredibly soulful voice and the beautiful harmonies from Sherilyn. amazing stuff. definitely the highlight of the evening for me. btw, Telegraph Canyon has been nominated for several FW Weekly Music awards. you should go here and vote for 'em. voting ends the 23rd, so hurry up. oh, and they're playing saturday night at the prophet bar. praise jeebus. i was sooo happy when i walked in the door at dada and found out TC was playing, but it sure was strange that they weren't listed in the line-up (i know i could've gotten at least Knuckles to come out and see 'em, if i had known). according to Chris, they had that show on their calendars and flyers for a while, but club dada seemed to have no idea that they were supposed to play. what a flaky bidness. i hope such screw-ups don't discourage TC from playing in dallas - that would be a real loss.

another great thursday night at dada, tho the late finish made my friday mornin a bit rough. definitely worth it, tho.

see you out there...

6/5/08 - The Felons, the cut*off, Salim Nourallah

ahhh, yes - artist-in-residence thursday nights at dada, back in action after taking May off. wish they'd still start at 8:00, tho - that was nice.

June's artist in residence is Salim Nourallah, doing solo acoustic sets. now i understand why this dude gets so much pub. wonderful collection of dreamy, beautiful, sometimes beatles-esque pop tunes, with unique vocals, nice guitar work and instantly catchy melodies. really dug it. definitely made me want to catch him with the full band - i will be watchin for that. next up was the cut*off, from Ft. Worth. definitely enjoyed their set this time much more than the first time i saw them back in november, when it seemed like they played a lot of covers. nice set full of muscular, slightly psychedelic pop tunes. they easily win the award for Band With The Highest Number of Girlfriends Who Remind Me of Jennifer Love Hewitt. they were joined on stage at one point by Jenn Nabb and Salim, who both added some nice vocal touches. definitely want to catch them again. last up was the felons, and i've gushed way too much already about this incredible band on these pages - it's starting to get embarassing. suffice it to say, thursday night's performance did not disappoint. it seems that i NEVER get tired of hearing these guys.