7/22/08 - DOMA ceremony

had another great time last night, courtesy of the dallas observer (i promise, they ain't payin me) - went to the DOMA ceremony at the granada.

for me, it was like being a kid in a candy shop - all (or at least a lot of) my favorite artists and music people in one place at the same time. really cool.

unfortunately, missed sarah jaffe and doug burr (can you bleebe they actually started on time?)

coulda done without the lindsay lohan remix songs (??) and what-not by the DJs (just not my thing), but they kept people entertained between sets and awards. yo, for real.

Whiskey Folk Ramblers - really dug their set. dono why, but i liked it much more last night than when i saw 'em on saturday night. that kind of music aint usually my thang, but for some reason i really got into it. it seemed like their songs weren't the typical happy-go-lucky bluegrass stuff i thot it was, it was darker, more dirge-like (which i really dig). missed Lil Wil (enjoying a refreshing beverage in the car)

instrumentalist super-group - what a great idea, having the nominees for best instrumentalist perform their versions of the best song nominees. what a hoot, hearing a bluegrass version of "Julianne". what an amazing, talented group of folks. burton gilliam was also a hoot, tho he had trouble reading those cards (sean "patrick", "spectator" 45). backsliders - they were also better than i remembered them being on saturday (probably the acoustics). some pretty good stuff. went on just a tad too long, however. pete gave me a free drink ticket, instantly becoming my new hero. record hop - ho. ly. shit. saw them once before at the cavern, and was blown away, and they had the same effect last night. way harder than the stuff i usually listen to, but man, i absolutely loved it. i have got to get my buddies out to see these guys.
amazing how much was packed into less than 3.5 hours - 6 bands, plus awards. shows what can be done, if things start on time and keep to a schedule. now if only the venues would do that on a regular basis, maybe more people would show up? just a thought. what do i know.

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...

7/18/08 - Lifters, Telegraph Canyon, AM Ramblers, Kristina Morland

started out friday night at BJ's in plano. great happy hour to start the evening. yep, i can say this with all honesty - i really love BJs. i can't emphasize enough how much i love BJs. really.

headed down to the pegasusnews showcase at dada. batman and wifey showed up, too. met them at zini's, where i was delighted to see my alternative-universe girlfriend working once again, even coming out from behind the counter to run up the stairs in her short-shorts, i'm sure just for me. praise jeebus.

back at dada, kristina morland was up first, and i loved her. you know solo acoustic singer/songwriters don't usually hold my attention, but she had me hooked from the first song. absolutely loved her voice - beautiful yet powerful, effortlessly flowing out, pitch perfect. and wonderful songwriting to boot. the comparisons to sarah jaffe are inevitable, but that's pretty high praise, i think. great set.

AM Ramblers, who seem to keep showing up on a lot of the line-ups i've seen lately, were up next. again - very very good bluegrass, great harmonies, hot girlfriends drinkin lonestar, one of the leads separated at birth from thom yorke. batman's wife said they were a cross between the old 97's and robert earl keen. i don't know the genre very well, so i'll have to take her word for it. they both fell in love, bot both cd's.

next up was Telegraph Canyon, and i have run out of superlatives for this band (read my prior reviews here and here). such a unique blend of musical styles (Mike Orren of pegasusnews described them as a cross between Wilco and Arcade Fire - not bad). love the "tension" between the folky acoustic guitar and the almost-psychedelic electric guitar, love the amazing vocals of Chris and Sherilyn, love the patented chris johnson scowl. talked to chris afterwards - he said they're working on new stuff (cd comin in March, i think?), but stuff'll start leaking pretty soon. can't wait.

up last was (were?) Lifters, (previous review here). lead separated at birth from paul simon. great voice. some very polished, very nice alt-countryish pop.

'twas a really solid line-up. nice job, PegNews.

7/12/08 - Calhoun, Smile Smile

went to the barley house on saturday night to catch the greatness of one of my absolute favorite local bands - Calhoun.


finally had some company - batman and wifey, the Les Savy Fan, and Joe the Boy Toy all showed up, although half-way thru Smile Smile's set, the LSF just had to leave to go join his gun-show-flaunting, oh-so-ironic-t-shirt-wearing, faux-hawk-sporting buddies down on lower greenville to "mix and mingle", as he put it. i'm sure he was a good boy.


big crowd at the barley house. many frat-boy douches, yes, but that was more than made up for by all of the amazing sun-dress-wearing sorority gals. oh my. also had the pleasure of watching Manya of blue petal dance her drunken ass off. veerry entertaining.


amazing sound system, too, btw. definitely been upgraded since the last time i was there.


up first was Smile Smile, who I've seen 3-4 times, and who seem to be blowing up right now. 3-man band: Ryan on guitar, Jencey on keys, and drummer (sorry, dude). it's always very nice - some songs happy, some sad, some country-tinged, some pure pop. Ryan's voice can get a tad reedy sometimes, but thankfully it gets smoothed over by Jencey's beautiful harmonies. anyways, they played a nice (if a bit long) set.

next up was Calhoun, and i cannot say enough good things about these guys. there's no doubt that they'll be huge one day, and i'll be proud to say 'i knew them when'. my gawd, if these guys can't make it big, i don't know who can. every song, a pure joy to behold. i was just blown away (happens every time i hear them). at one point, they were joined by Jencey doin some beautiful harmonies - talk about a dream team. they definitely are the masters of the start-out-quiet-and-pretty, then-kick-into-anthemic, wall-of-sound, kick-your-ass rock. one thing i really noticed last night - tim can fucking wail on that guitar. they did all the old songs i love, plus a bunch of new stuff too, which was fantastic. their new album comes out September 9. can't wait.

7/11/08 - Golden Bear, ???

dear gawd i swear i have half a mind never to see the inside of the fuckin Cavern ever again. seems like every time i go, it sucks, for one reason or another. Friday night was no exception.

first up was fuckifiknow, 3-man band: guitar, bass, drums. it was supposed to be It's Unamerican to Be Sad, but since the lead said not one. fucking. word to the audience, i really have no idea who the hell they were. no kidding, not ONE WORD. anyways, i didn't like em. very guitar-heavy pop, lead had waaaay too many guitars, vocals seemed to be an afterthought to the guitar playin (which was pretty good, i'll admit). i was completely uninterested in what they were doin. definitely proves the value of an engaging frontman, or at least one who SPEAKS.
next up was the longest fucking sound check in history.

then came Golden Bear, from Austin. 5-man band: 2 guitars, keys, bass, drums. lead vocalist very energetic, jumpin around, maybe a bit too much, as his vocals bit the big one. backup singers seemed to have better voices, IMO. some decent guitar-led power-pop. no real grooves or hooks to be found, tho. didn't really pull me in. third band (Viva L'American Death Ray Music) was a no show. fuckers.

7/3/08 - Fleet Foxes, The Duchess and the Duke

ooooh jeebsu chrust jeebu chrust jeebus chrust

i fuckin LOVE taco bueno at 1 in teh mornin... its a beautiful thang....

started out after work at zenna (awesome sushi joint in plano with an incredible happy hour) at like 430 or so, tryin to drink tk and the Super Cool Alt-Country Chick under the table, both tk and i having our ASSES handed to us by the SCACC, jeebus christ. buyin us holy phucks with a "ph", no less. pretty sure i told her waaaay more than she wanted to know. goddam holy phucks.

so of course it sounded like a great idea to make my way to the effin Loft to catch a thursday show, yaknow cuz i dint hit a show last weekend, and i'm out of commission this weekend, so i just had to - feedin the beast and all. plus which, the Les Savy Fan was really hypin this show, so you know. and i's like hey, it damn well better be great, for $12 cover and $5 parkin, all the way the fuck over at lamar, for only two fuckin bands, no less.

so up first was the duchess and the duke. 3-man band, and they must've been like missin somebody or somethin, surely. two peeps on guitar and one on like tamborine and stuff, but no bass or drummer and i'm like, jeezus chrust, hire a fuckin drummer or bass player. yes, yes, they were good, but i felt like they really needed a drummer and/or bass player, cuz their songs were good but they just kinda laid there. i never really realized how important a rhythm section was. seems i really like to feel that bass and drums thump in my chest, yaknow? twas funny, cuz i asked the LSF, where's the fuckin duchess - there's supposed to be a chick in this band, and he said that's her right there, and i swear at first glance i thot she was a dude, but only because the lighting made her look like she had a beard and shit (ok, i was deeeerunk, too). but after he pointed out she was a gal, i saw that she was, in fact, HOT. so they got that goin for em. anyhows, up next was fleet foxes (a curious choice for a name, yes? being as how half of it has to do with enemas?), who a goddamn BIG crowd had showed up for. so i'm thinking, jeezus, they must be effin incredible! cuz i've seen some pretty damn good touring bands at club dada and hailey's (the whigs, white rabbits, lamar murphy, tartufi, wild sweet orange) who've nowhere near drawn this kind of crowd, but still ended up on letterman (some of em, anyways), so i was waitin for them to fuckin kick my ass. and uh, not so much. don't get me wrong, they were good - really good - they have the art of 4-part harmony down to a science, and 'twas a beautiful thang, but i kept thinkin, is this sooo much better than what i've seen at dada and hailey's for 6 bucks? and i kept thinkin, uhhhhhh - no. yeah, i know - it's stupid of me to boil it down to dollars and cents, but goddam, for 17 buck, i expect somethin really special, ya know? yes, it is absolutely NOT the band's fault, i dono who's it is - i guess there are only a couple of venues in dallas that'll hold that size crowd, so they're stuck with it. i dono. who gives a fuck. no one reads this anyways. soory again for the crappy pics - highly illegal pics, i should say. why the hell are cameras banned at that place, anyways? bizarro.

out.

6/26/08 - What Made Milwaukee Famous, Three Fantastic, AM Ramblers

left my buddies knuckles, the piledriver, and mr. amsterdam to their nefarious plans (including the assault of municipal property) and headed down to the effin cavern to catch a midweek show.

first up were the AM Ramblers, who I saw a couple months ago at Hailey's. Once again, if bluegrass is your thing, you can't do much better than these guys. Great 4-part harmonies. Very talented musicians.

Next up was Three Fantastic, from Houston. 4-man band - 3 guitars plus drums. saw these guys over a year ago at the Liquid Lounge, and was floored by 'em. i described the frontman as a jim morrison impersonator - howling voice, high-energy, total showman. this time - not as much. the lead seems to have calmed down somewhat over the last year or so, or the songwriting has changed quite a bit (or i'm just not remembering it very well). these guys can rock, no doubt - amazing playing from both guitar players. the vocal parts seemed almost uh, how can i describe it - loungish? i'm not sayin they were bad (in fact, i dug his voice), but you end up with an unusual combination of melt-your-face guitar playin and lounge singing. it was definitely unique and interesting, i'll say that. definitely worth checking out, if you get the chance.

What Made Milwaukee Famous headlined. was really looking forward to their set, as i really liked what i heard on their cd. only a 4-man band last night (apparently the lead guitarist was sick) - guitar, keys, bass, drum. fairly large group of loyal fans singin along with all the songs (and by fairly large i mean like 7 or 8). definitely a very high concentration of Rhythmically Impaired Dancers (gawd bless 'em). some songs definitely had a happy weezer-ish pop vibe, others were more anthemic and coldplay-ish, but with more masculine vocals (great voice on that dude, btw). lead was very funny, very engaging. i definitely enjoyed the anthemic songs more - the others i could take or leave. overall, 'twas a nice set.

6/21/08 - Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Beauxregard, Frankie 45, Pet Hospital

gonna keep this one short and sweet - i'm in one of those 'why the hell do i bother' moods. again, sorry for the crappy pics and video.

went to Sons of Hermann Hall for the Art Con SEED Event on saturday night. huge crowd (most undoubtedly there for the art auction, not the music). first up was Pet Hospital, who i've seen multiple times. very laid-back set - seemed like 80% of it was just Steven by himself, channeling Thom Yorke (while the rest of the band chatted amongst themselves on stage). not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, it's just different from the room-filling rockin sound i'm used to from those boys. maybe they were throttling back because of the audience/environment.
Spector 45 was supposed to play next, but only Frankie 45 played due to some sort of mix-up or scheduling problem. it was nice (dude's got some talent), but i was definitely in the mood to get my ass kicked by the full band. next time, eh? (dear gawd, that pic is awful. sorry, frankie.) Beauxregard was up next. 'twas the same fun-filled retro new-wave pop i saw last time. good stuff.
last up was Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, one of my favorite local bands (see write-up here). they were outstanding as usual, although the set lacked the magic of that night at Dan's, which is totally my fault for letting the environment get to me - the lights were up, people were milling about and hobnobbing, etc. Made it hard for me to lose myself in the music. despite all that, i still enjoyed the set. those guys rule.

outtie...