Showing posts with label somebody's darling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label somebody's darling. Show all posts

Sunday, August 3, 2008

8/2/08 - Ghost of Blind Lemon showcase

headed down to club dada saturday night to catch the ghost of blind lemon showcase. happily, muh buddies tk and knuckles joined me for the festivities.

'twas a long night - we got down there at 6, so we had plenty of time to get really and truly plastered. i myself set a new record for # of ounces of vodker imbibed without having to use the facilities (yes, my parents are very proud). so you'll have to forgive me if some of the details are a little sketchy.

things got started with Kristina Morland. saw her a couple weeks ago and was blown away, and last night was no different. what an amazing talent. incredible voice, beautiful songs, great songwriting. last night, she had a violin player dude (who tk was totally gay for) accompanying her, which was a fantastic addition. the combination of the awesome vocals and the soulful music routinely gave me chills. wonderful set. probably the highlight of the evening for me (at least musically speaking). bot the cd.





next up was American Werewolf Academy. meh, they were ok - nice sound from the 3-piece band, but the vocals weren't the greatest. knuckles gave them a rating of NSM (not so much). Rahim Quazi continued things outside. some pretty nice acoustic pop. loved the french horn and trumpet. need to check out the cd that chris raves about. back inside were the felons. fred (the keyboard player) has recently gone off to pursue other endeavors, so the boys performed as a three-piece for the first time. there's no doubt - i missed fred's keys, but i still thought the set was great, and i look forward to what dave and the boys will do with their sound. talked to dave, and he said the stuff they've been writing lately has been a lot harder than their previous stuff. i definitely look forward to hearing that. those guys have enough talent that whatever they come up with, it's gonna be great. stay tuned, eh? up next was the cut*off, who i've seen multiple times now. these guys always put on a good show, with some very polished alt-country-tinged pop. last night seemed to be heavier on the country influence than the previous times i've seen 'em, but i dono - maybe not. (you see what i mean about the lack of detail? to further add to the problem caused by large amounts of alcyhol, at some point during the evening we actually started chatting with some females, which is so incredibly rare and shocking that i think i was momentarily disoriented and lost track of why i was there)

back inside were the backsliders, who knuckles is totally gay for (well, at least for the hot chick lead, which i guess means it's not gay after all). anyways, they always put on a rockin show. not exactly my thing, but it does get the ladies dancin. rose county fair was next. it was during their set that the interaction with the females was at a pretty high pitch, so i don't remember a damn thing about them. sorry. last up was Somebody's Darlin, who i've seen before. some really high-energy, bluesy alt-countryish rock with amazing vocals. all in all, a great night - lotsa booze, lotsa great people (wimmens, even!), and some really fine music. hope chris does this again soon.

Monday, May 12, 2008

5/10/08 - Somebody's Darling, The Felons, Escort Service, Romp Almighty

Headed down to Deep Ellum on saturday night to catch the felons and romp almighty. got there way too early cuz i got suckered in by romp's bulletin that said they'd start at 8. cant bleebe i fell for that - oldest trick in the book. anyhows, got there early enough to get the last free parking spot in DE (yay, me), and had a chance to talk to laura and trey (romp almighty), and for some reason decided to inform them of my one-time trot-line fishin prowess (ah, me). went back to dada and also had lots of time to chat with my man fred (keyboard whiz-kid from the felons, photographer extraordinaire, and Juno-writer Diablo Cody's Number One Fan (btw, did you know she used to be a stripper? it's true!)).


went back to the allgood cafe at 9 for romp almighty. been waitin forever to see these guys again, cuz i fell in love with 'em at haileys awhile back (see review here). once again, i was transfixed - beautiful voice, totally cool fuzzed-out synthesizer, great guitar playin, haunting melodies. fantastic. only complaint - the sound system at the allgood really just wasnt up to the task. at hailey's that night, part of the greatness of it was being enveloped by their sound and laura's voice, and the allgood just aint set up for that. here's hoping laura and trey start playin more venues that can really showcase their stuff. they deserve it. went back later and got a free EP from laura, who told me their full-length should be out in about three months or so.
back at dada, spent some time on the patio with the usual crew around there - great people. back inside, escort service started off the evening. some decent guitar-based pop/rock, reminded me of bowling for soup sometimes, sometimes the foo fighters. the greatness of eric neal on bass and backup vocals. perty good.

next up were my boys the felons. i've raved over and over about these guys, and i've never been disappointed by one of their shows (see my previous reviews here and here). dave's voice just amazes me. so listen up - the felons are playing a lot of shows in the next couple months - do yourself a favor and check them out.

here's a really terrible video of one of my favorite felons songs, Worse for Wear:

Here's Dave singing happy birfday to valerie (co-owner of dada), whose birfday we were celebrating.

last up was Somebody's Darling. holy smokes, can that woman belt it out. i'm sure she gets beaten down by the constant comparisons to Janis Joplin, but the similarities are inescapable. what a ball of fire and energy (and hair!) on stage. if you dig the whole alt-country-rock thang, check out this band.

see you out there...