David Wright Undone Last Night

So last night we became converted believers in the Undoing of David Wright. We had seen them once quite a while back in Denton, and thought hmm.... decent, but kind of gimmicky. Actually we weren't sure what to think. Last night however, we saw a band that was musically tight as fuck, playing complex guitar riffs and thumping bass lines in odd times all while flailing around the stage like corpses that had just been given an electric shock. Their lead singer has obviously studied his David Bowie stage presence guide, but musically they reminded us more of some of the no-wave New York post punk groups from the early 70's, particularly James Chance and the Contortions( here). People have been rediscovering the Contortions for the past couple of years, as well as Suicide, DNA, Lydia Lunch and the rest of the late 70's experimental noise bands that came out of the lower East Side. These guys have obviously done their homework , which is not to say that they really sound like any of those bands (they don't), but rather just have a similar feel, particularly the vocals, which is something unique in the Dallas area seeing as how most peoples idea of post punk around here seems to be Interpol and the Smiths.

You also can't avoid the prog rock influence that seems to be creeping throughout. Spoken word interludes about Sea Captains and other tall tales were heard throughout the set, and come on, you can't tell me you didn't hear some Yes riffs in there from time to time. Why am I talking to you? Well, I'm guessing that some of you were there last night, considering the fairly large crowd that came out. Actually, there were more people inside the Double Wide stage area last night than we have ever seen, and many in the front were dancing nonfucking stop throughout the set (which as the band pointed out is a rarity in Dallas, even if it was mostly Denton kids.) Whatever their influences, Undoing of David Wright are a great band, and they make people dance. Every goddamn song they played last night was catchy, and aside from some equipment problems, the guys didn't seem to miss a note, while also putting on a hell of a stage show with their charismatic and androgynous lead singer that seems to understand the concept of lyrical phrasing more than just about any singer in the Denton/Dallas area as a centerpiece.

Strange Boys also played a strong set to a large crowd, culminating with a finale in which Undoing, Eat Avery's Bones, and Attractive and Popular joined them onstage. A pretty nice Saturday night in Dallas.

(Oh, by the way, people have been emailing us and asking where our goddamn Bestest of 2005 list is. We're going to do two more entries today, as well as the "It" list later on.)