1/1/11 - lalagray, Sundress, Comrade

...at City Tavern.

Comrade (Austin?). Seen these guys a few times now, and described them as "slightly weepy". I'm stickin' with my assessment, but my intrepid companion disagreed: "Weepy sounds so sad. Certainly sentimental, slow, intentional. Wish I knew what he was sayin".Sundress (Denton). Easily in my top five all-time favorite local bands, but you knew that. My intrepid companion's comment: "Trippy!"lalagray (Dallas). Was looking forward to seeing Ashley, what with all the positive press she's gotten 'round these parts. This night, she performed solo, with only her keyboard. Nice collection of tunes, and i loved her voice. But i have to admit - while her songs were pleasant enough, none of them grabbed me, or hooked me. Maybe it was just my mood that night, maybe it was the lack of a full band, maybe it was the (seemingly always) douchey audience at the CT that threatened to drown her out, but it seemed like each song just floated past, blended into the next one, and the next one, til the set was over. Anyways, I'd like to hear her again someday, to (hopefully) correct my impression.

12/5/10 - Sundress, Final Club, Land Mammals, River Mouth,

...at Hailey's.

The River Mouth (Denton) opened. 3-man band, two of them long-hairs. Stereotypical bluesy southern psych rock with super-heavy reverb on the vox. 'Twas ok, but hasn't that been done before? Like, a million times?Land Mammals (Denton). Said it many times before - I loves me some Land Mammals. Check 'em out.Final Club (Denton). Jangly, shouty, punkish noise rock. S'ok. My advice to lead - turn towards the fucking audience every once in a while (a pet peeve of mine, I'll admit).

Sundress (Denton). Ahhhhh, Sundress. Exquisite. Glad to see they're finally getting some well-deserved buzz around here.

6/29/10 - Julian Lynch, Sundress, Soft Healer

Wedentondoit shindig at JnJ's. Actually started at 8, praise jeebus, but that means i missed Goldilocks and the Rock, who seem to be in bed wif WDDI, that's for sure.

Soft Healer (Austin). Dug it, but had a hard time figuring it out. Guitar confused me, at one point i wrote "surf punk?". Enjoyed multi-instrumentalist -part-time sax, mouth organ (oh yeah, i said it), keys. Sundress (Denton). Sweet baby jeezus, what an awesome experience this was. Sitting 10 feet from this band, totally enveloped by their sound -what can I say - 'twas orgasmic. Definitely some phenomenal songwriting going on here, with some awesome vocals, but the ethereal guitar playing (second pic) sets them apart. A cross between early radiohead, Travis, and a less-strident Muse - enough to make any serious music fan cream his/her pants. Absolutely phenomenal. Probably my favorite local band at the moment.

Julian Lynch (New Jersey, Wisconsin). Very interesting. Have to admit - you see a guy tuning up his clarinet before his set, you think "not a good sign". then he starts tuning his BASS clarinet, and you think "well, at least i'll get to bed early". But no - this was some some hauntingly beautiful stuff. Just one guy with wind instruments (some unidentifiable), a table full of pedals and such, a droning backing track, and amazing talent. Truly mesmerizing. No way was I leaving early.

6/25/10 - Sundress, The Clouds are Ghosts, Land Mammals, Retro Run

Retro Run (Denton). Walked in half-way thru their set, to hear Vampire Weekend cover. Next two i didn't like. to top it off, they somehow felt themselves worthy of not one, but TWO encores. for the effing opener? uh, no. not how it works. get off the stage.

The Clouds are Ghosts (Austin). Shoulda dug this band, but didn't. Violin, keys, etc. Felt it was over-produced, trying too hard. facebook post said somethin about individuation or some rot. check it.
Land Mammals (Denton). Loved it. Supremely individuated, says facebook.
Sundress (Denton). Truly awesome. Funny - just that morning, i had heard an amazing song on KXT and jotted down the time, so i could look it up later to see who it was. Never got around to it, but i heard it again that night - twas Sundress' Dream Curl. How cool to hear it live.