Weekender: 3/9/07-3/10/07

(Contributions from SR and Wildcat, someone you'll hear more from soon)

Seems like a lot is going on this weekend as we enter into one of the best times of the year for music in the area. We'll have some SXSW stuff for you next week, but we really plan to focus on the day parties and free stuff more than any of the actual showcases since: 1) you can read about showcase stuff all over the place and 2) the free day shows and non-SXSW events taking place in Austin next week are usually ten times more fun than the actual showcases themselves. I've gone to SXSW for a number of years now, and each year I've been more and more inclined to forget the wrist band all together. This year, I'm doing it: no wristbands, just free stuff. And I bet I'm going to have as much or more fun that I've had in years previous. Anyway, here we go:

FRIDAY

Chief Death Rage/Nouns Group/Kaboom (Secret Headquarters): A solid early show over at SHQ this evening featuring the sludgy CDR, one of our local favorites (who will also have the honor of opening for Dead Meadow next week), along with two other much talked about local groups whose performances will probably be more than worth the massive three dollar cover. I've never seen Nouns Group or Kaboom live, but I hear very good things. Certainly a must see up in Denton, especially considering that it starts early enough (first band at 830) to give you plenty of time to do something else after the show is over.

Baptist Generals/Shiny Around the Edges/Mom (Denton Arts Center): Tonight, the Greater Denton Arts Council—GDAC—hosts a fundraising event that it has dubbed the Ultra Extra Arts Mix, which will include appearances by ShinyAround the Edges, Baptist Generals, and Mom. The GDAC uses its fundraising arm, The Arts Guild (link), to underwrite public arts programs and support area groups.It would appear that one product of such support is the GDAC operated Center for the Visual Arts at 207 S Bell Ave,which is where things will go down tonight from 7-11pm. Admission is $20 if you’re going solo, or $35 if you bring your date and/or mom. Between sets, you might enjoy perusing the hard and soft materials on display in the Materials: Hard and Soft exhibit in the Meadows gallery. Another reason to support GDAC? On tap for next week is an impressive partnership with University of NorthTexas College of Music to provide for the residency of Mario Davidovsky from 3/11 to 3/13. If you were a member of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (http://www.seamusonline.org/), you’d know that Mario Davidovsky is a true golden oldie pioneer composer of electronic music. I think these days Davidovsky typically combines the sounds of live musicians with tapes of recorded music/sounds. Maybe the tape components can be thought of as embedded pre-recordings, since they’re played with live musicians as pre-recordings, and themselves are sometimes composed from various pieces of pre-recordedmaterial. For example, Davidovsky has composed by cutting and variably splicing magnetic tape containing previous recordings to create new recordings for which I have offered “embedded pre-recordings” as an example. At any rate, if that sounds like your cup of tea, then maybe you’d like to compare an Electronic Study piece with a recent Synchronism composition on this guy's page. There will be a performance of Davidovsky’s works at 8pm on Monday at the UNT College of Music, and if you’re still not convinced that the Ultra Extra Arts Mix is the culturally responsible way to spend your hard earned monies tonight, then maybe you should consider that according to GDAC, this is the first event “specifically targeted at the 25-45 year old arts lover,” featuring an atmosphere that’s “like a cool, hip, modern nightclub.” Incidentally, if you’re thinking of starting up one such cool, hip, modern nightclub yourself, maybe since the Gypsy is soon to bedefunct and all, you’d do well to check out some tips this guy. (by Wildcat)

Purple Crush (Zubar): This band, coming through with the support of The Party's Sober and Select, has had a couple of impressive dance singles that have received a decent amount of play in clubs in the US, UK and France, and they really remind me a hell of a lot of the excellent I Am The World Trade Center, particularly with their cover of "Two of Hearts." You need to go ahead and listen to the song "Fire Wire" on the group's Myspace page to see what I mean. If you had any doubts about this show, I'm willing to bet that this song will change your mind with an instantly catchy verse that is quite unique for upbeat tongue in cheek art school dance pop from Brooklyn. This is a sure bet if you're looking to let lose this evening, and I'm sure the always fashionable, attractive and seemingly built in audience The Party has acquired over the past few months will be out in full force for this.

Raised by Tigers/Current Leaves/Medicine Window (Rubber Gloves): Should be quite a good show tonight at Rubber Gloves, if not the most rockinest thing you've ever seen. Raised by Tiger's pleasant songs remind me a bit of early Sea and Cake (just a bit, mind you) and the softer side of post-britpop English indie and straightforward shoegaze. You guys know Current Leaves already, and the majority of loud rock that you'll hear at this thing will be provided by Medicine Window, whose tense, jagged, rhythmic post-hardcore songs will be a perfect way to start the evening.

Fishboy/Mermaid Police/Beauxregard (J&Js): Give a listen to Belgium on Beauxregard's Myspace page. Pretty strange song, kinda good. I don't know if I really dig all the songs I've heard from them (one of them remind me of Elefant or however you spell it, who happen to be one of the worst bands ever), but this might be a good night to see what kind of band Beauxregard is since this is free and all.

The Happy Bullets are playing a free show at Good Records tonight at 7pm. I assume free beer is also on the bill.

SATURDAY

White Drugs/Warren Jackson Hearne/Liz McGowen (Secret Headquarters): Shit, White Drugs really pack a fucking punch on record. Why they have yet to become wildly popular around town I don't quite understand, but I think its gonna happen sooner rather than later.

Baboon/Tame...Tame and Quiet/LaLaLand/Zoo video DJ (The Cavern): Although I've never been the biggest Baboon fan of all time, people keep telling me that I need to check them out live, and this might be the time I try it, considering that the small Cavern setting might be the perfect place to see a loud rock show like this, especially since TTAQ will be opening. And if it gets too hectic downstairs, the always enjoyable Zoo will be happening upstairs.

And of course, that big ass North by Southwest thing will be going on over at the Bible Banger joint in Deep Ellum. Not really seeing anything on Saturday that does it for me, but you can catch the excellent Okkervil River on Sunday.