8/23/08 - AM Ramblers, Telegraph Canyon, Monahans, Doug Burr

headed out to hailey's to catch one of my favorites - telegraph canyon. fellow live-music fan joe the boy toy showed up, too. he managed to chat up half the women in the place before i even got there - dude has skeels.

pretty good crowd - pre-semester shenanigans, eh?

first up was Doug Burr, someone i've seen a lot of hype aboot. He had a full band backing him - keys, guitars, banjo, pedal steel, drums. everyone sat. doug has skunk hair. some pretty good stuff, tho it drifted off into alt-country land more often than i like. one or two were phenomenal wall-of-sound anthemic guitar pop tunes, wish there were more like that. seemed to go on quite a while - i think he's used to headlining, not opening. last song a real snoozer.

next up was Monahans, from austin. um, yeah - i can't say i can recall much about them. i was, uh, very distracted (it involved plenty of incoherent babbling, that's all i'll say (gentlemen never tell, and neither do i)). 5-man band, pretty sure, lotsa guitars. what i remember hearing (during lulls in the babbling) was pretty good - i'd like to hear them again, when i can devote my full attention to them.

next up was telegraph canyon, who proved once again why they are one of my favorites (read prior writeups here and here). another awesome set by this terrifically talented group. did miss sherilyn's harmonies, tho. hopefully a short-term absence.

last up was AM Ramblers, who seem to be following me around from show to show. again, some really well-executed bluegrass. if that's your thing, look them up.

all in all, a decent night of music, and some very interesting conversation. not too shabby.

8/15/08 - Ella Minnow, Bee vs. Moth, Timeline Post, Sean Kirkpatrick

headed out to hailey's, mainly to hear sean k, but it turned out to be a pretty good night overall.

sean kirkpatrick - seen him more times than i can count, and he slays me every time. he's just one of those songwriters that writes song after song that absolutely resonate with me. would love to know who he listens to - pretty sure i'd love it. his set list is definitely transitioning from first album material to a bunch of new stuff, which is all incredible. (you can hear some of the new material on the crazy jeff show page or the gutterth page, and i suggest you do). did a beautiful amy winehouse cover. i've said it before - sean is one of the very few artists whose covers i enjoy, cuz he does such a great job of making them his own. heard 'life without chocolate' live for the first time - one of my favorites from his album. an outstanding set. sean will be performing with his full band at club dada on the 28th - check it out. timeline post - 2nd time to see these guys - liked it much better this time. 6-man band - 4 guitars, keys and drums. some outstanding, dreamy, wall-of-sound guitar pop (didn't hear the keys too much). only problem - music that strong needs some kick-yer-ass vocals to stand above it, and the lead just doesn't have that kind of voice. probably works fine on a recording, but live, his vocals just got drowned out on every song. can't help but think that some beefy vocals would kick it up a notch. really dug the set, tho. bee vs. moth - um, no thanks. not a fan of jazz. cornet, bari sax, guitar, bass (sometimes upright), drums. seemed like they were good at it, but i just don't dig that stuff. ella minnow - holy shit, ella minnow kicked my ass. totally different take on them vs. the first time i saw 'em. songs kinda all over the map - some early-radioheadish stuff, some bluesy numbers, some 4/4 downbeat-happy songs, some wall of sound anthemic rock, some instrumentals - and all of it was fantastic. lead reminded me of stephen duncan (of chemistry set "fame"), except on speed. lead vox strong (great falsetto), if not exactly conventional (sometimes he reminded me of squiggy from laverne and shirley), but it worked. super-high energy, too - both the lead and the (cape-wearing) key/sax-player were spazzes, injecting the show with tons of energy. man, i loved it. can't wait to see 'em again. (soory for the crappy pic)

Weekend picks

after a little time off wif da kiddos, it's time to venture out again:

tonight (Friday), you'll find me listening to the twisted, tormented, but always tuneful stylings of Mr. Sean Kirkpatrick (winner of a DOMA for best instrumentalist, you know) at Hailey's:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2008/aug/15/106290/

not so sure about the rest of the line-up, but hopefully it'll be worth the trip.

another decent show: Whiskey Folk Ramblers and 100 Damned Guns at Dan's:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2008/aug/15/105720/


Saturday night's kinda up in the air. Might be goin to a private-party/gallery-opening (oo-la-la). Wouldn't mind seein Baboon at the Dee-dub, but dono if it's worth goin just for them:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2008/aug/16/105138/

if you like the bluesy sorta stuff, you can't miss with this show:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2008/aug/16/105162/

and if you likes the alt-country:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2008/aug/16/100866/

8/6/08 - Parata, RTB2, Loxsly, Daniel Folmer

went out to hailey's on wednesday night -tryin to get my fill before i go out of commission this weekend.

happily, another live-music nutjob i've recently met - The Tara^TM - showed up, too, so i didn't have to drink alone (how cool is that!). plenty of incoherent babbling ensued (on my part, i should say).

up first was daniel folmer. saw him once before, playing with only a keyboard player, and really dug it. last night, i was excited to see him set up with a full four-piece band. bleebe it or not, tho - eh, not so much. not that it was bad by any means, but i definitely liked him better with a stripped-down band - i think it's a better fit for his intimate, soulful music. next up was loxsly, from austin. really dug these guys. nice collection of dark, slightly-psychedelic indie pop, full of great keys and pedal steel. the only lighting on stage came from projected images on a sheet they had rigged up behind them. dono why, but it kinda bugged me that i couldn't see them. really enjoyed the set, tho. rtb2 was next, and they were amazing. my third time to see 'em, and it was easily the best of the three. great bluesy, gut-wrenching stuff with incredible guitar work and kick-yer-ass drums. of special note last night - ryan's outstanding vocals (i'd never noticed how great his voice is). and my GAWD can that dude play. i'm always amazed how they can sound like a full band with only two guys on stage. funny how much your mood influences your opinions - the song i thot was a beating last time was one of my favorites last night. anyways, 'twas a great set. parata was last. seen them three times also, with mixed results - it seems like it's different every time, and not at all what i remembered. this time, i heard a lot of weezer, and even some happy bullets, bleebe it or not. The Tara said she heard the Beach Boys (and the ramones, i think). anyways, they were good at what they were doin, but every song started sounding the same after a while.

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.

Saturday night show

here's where i'll be saturday night:

pretty solid line-up, including one of my faves, the felons.

see you there...

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...