Thursday, August 23, 2007

It List: Thursday 8/23/07


Lost Generation with Wanz Dover and Ineka (Fallout Lounge)

80's Night With DJ G

Tony Bones Exhibition (Gallery At Magnolia Theater): Beloved local artist Tony Bones has another "legitimate" showing, this time at The Magnolia. I consider his work to be in that all too rare category of actual Dallas iconography, so he's always been legitimate. On a somewhat related note, I've always loved this website, especially for that URL.

40 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rock 'n' roll history has a long tradition of bizarre incongruities: Sha Na Na at Woodstock—what was that all about? So when I first heard that Black Tie Dynasty was going to play at FireWater, that bastion of mid-cities metal, a place that boasts one of those cold Jägermeister machines, I didn't think much of it.

But after a bit, it sounded interesting...those dark clad boys ripping out their shiny riffs, '80s-inspired vocals and disco drums, surrounded by ladies sporting the latest from Wet Seal and dudes sporting backward baseball caps. I figured at the very least, Black Tie might need me there to make sure they didn't get their asses kicked in the parking lot.

On that count, I needn't have bothered; the band went over quite well, out in the hinterlands off Interstate 35, a surprise that fosters some investigation.

For those who have never been there, FireWater is a large nightclub/bar out around Northwest Highway and I-35, not that long a trek, but definitely a smidge out of the way if you're used to Deep Ellum or Lower Greenville. It's fairly easy to reach highway-wise, but once you exit, things get a bit tricky. After a single left turn, you end up in what might be the world's largest parking lot—kinda like Arlington—flanked on one side by a giant honky-tonk whose name I forget but where, apparently, people like to make out by their cars.

There's a Chili's, I think, and maybe a Hooters—in all honesty it's difficult to tell if they're really there or they just should have been there, implied like a grace note in guitar tablature, but either way, FireWater is planted smack in the middle of a hell of a lot of concrete and difficult to find until you spot the fountains that spout like baby geysers in front of the establishment, out by the outdoor stage, and hear the singular sound of shot glasses clinking.

It's only a 20-minute drive if you include getting lost in the asphalt jungle of chain restaurants, but for those of us who frequent dank clubs, FireWater might as well be on the moon. It was packed this past Saturday night, a fact that I, with raised eyebrows, assumed was due to the BTD show, until a man who was probably around 35 but looked, with his paunch and rough drinking face, much older, informed me that he and others thought a KISS cover band was playing that night. Still, much of the crowd was young and eager to party. There were girls who seemed they must have been members of some lesser sorority, or maybe they went to community college. The fellas were clearly on the make, almost all of them sporting short haircuts and flip-flops. There were a lot of cargo shorts. At one point—and I'm not making this up—I overheard one guy say to another, "Do you like Fall Out Boy?"

You get the picture. After Longview's The Vehicle Reason provided a tepid set of generic alt-rock, a large group of FireWater denizens gathered near the front of the stage, waiting for BTD to start their set. And once they did, damn if the Fall Out Boy-loving crowd didn't dig it. There was dancing, arm pumping, fist waving. People were paying attention, in a way I hadn't seen in a long time. Sure, the majority of the few hundred folks out at the bar that night were more interested in the Coors Light and ESPN, but a shockingly high ratio also never turned their heads from the stage.

The stage in question is outside, a raised extension of the expansive wooden deck, so close to those Bellagio-wannabe fountains that when the wind blows the right direction, you get a slight spray of water in the face, which isn't entirely unpleasant. This particular night, the wind whipped in confused circles, whisking bass player Blake McWhorter's awesomely giant pile of hair—his coif resembles Marie Antoinette's 'do after an absinthe binge—into intricate configurations. (At certain points, I would look at it and try to find a recognizable figure, like when you play that cloud game. Look—there's a shark! And now it's a balloon!) The breeze was a tiny reminder it won't always be 105 degrees; the blur of smiling faces, each completely lacking in irony, a reminder that a party's a party; the friendly bartenders a reminder that surliness is not a virtue. And, as Black Tie singer Cory Watson raised his arms and stretched them toward the crowd and all the pretty girls stretched theirs back, I remembered that we were lost. And that was a good thing.

Handstamps: Tired of that wannabe alt-country? Check out Sean Reefer and the Resin Valley Boys at Dan's Silverleaf, Denton, on Thursday, August 23. Reefer et. al. must smoke a special strain, because they, er, puff out a mellow backwoods brand of pure yee-haw...California, here we come—by way of Arlington, that is—when Phantom Planet, PPT, the Last of the Ashfords and DJ B Smoove host the MavsMeet afterparty Friday, August 24. At first we thought this was the Dallas Mavericks, but then we realized it's the UTA Mavs. Oh well, with that lineup, it'll still be fun...The 2007 version of the B.B. King Blues Festival gets really low down with the Rev. Al Green and Etta James and the Roots Band Sunday, August 26, at Nokia Theatre...Salim Nourallah releases his latest, Snowing in My Heart, with help from Radiant, the Slack and Johnny Lloyd Rollins at the Granada on Friday, August 24. See you there—till then, B Smoove, y'all.

4:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

God almighty.. what an absolute fucking joke. This lady is the worst the Observer has seen. This article signals the death of music in this town. Fuck

4:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

what is this?

4:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

graffiti art is so lame, and the fact that people take it seriously and have exhibits for that shit is even a bigger joke.

4:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

crap, tricked into reading the observer again!

4:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

we should really start commenting with the same comments that go on here on the actual observer page.

5:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-08-23/music/smoke-on-the-water/

5:02 PM  
Blogger DTC said...

i wonder how effective that would be. surely voice media or whatever its called now would have to take action regarding a wave of negative attention.

5:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i don't even think it matters how "effective" it would be.

5:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

that bitch has no voice

5:39 PM  
Blogger stonedranger said...

I honestly just don't care... of course it's crap. It's corporate media that exists simply to make money.

Not that there is something wrong with making money, but when the ONLY reason you exist is to make money, and you don't even take the least bit of interest in the subject you cover and the culture surrounding it, then this steaming pile of shit is going to be the result pretty much every time.

As long as venues keep buying ad space, no one upstairs at the observer is going to notice or care what any of us have to say.

But you're right-- jonanna widner sounds like what would happen if they made my mom the music editor. Except she could at least talk about motown and the 60's and stuff.

5:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe she should be a fashion consultant, because all she wrote about was hairdos, clothing, and fountains. Add to that a fair share of stereotyping/prejudice.

So the place sells jagermeister, what the fuck does that have to do with music?

I do find it funny that someone would think they are a KISS coverband(being KISS's shitty disco album was called "dynasty"). Jonanna didn't point that out, so I'm not sure if she even got that.

I'm totally indifferent to BTD, but I'm sure if your band is covered in a paper, you'd want something more than this article.

6:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

God Jonanna Widner is fucking insufferable, and has no grip on anything that is going on in Dallas. May as well have randomly picked some bulldyke from Cabaret Royale at 4:30 am to be the Observer music editor.

6:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh and BTW dont' forget that Daft Punk movie has some showings this weekend.

6:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The only people that actually read the Observer music section are people who are in bands who are checking to see if their show got mentioned, so it's pretty irrelevant as to effecting the publics opinon on music or drawing attention to it.

Also i used to work somewhere that Observer sales people would call and hassle me to trying to get us to advertise. Fucking unrelentless. Those sales guys have amazing/annoying work ethic, maybe they should have the sales dude write the columns too, it cant be any worse.

6:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That space in the Observer could have been used to talk about the denton Deluxe.

Oh wait, Strawberry Fields doesn't advertise in it like Wet Seal does!

6:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

also another show with artist TonyBones
"obscenely obscene FEST"

A show including music and artists

this saturday

Artists

Jeremy Meador
TonyBones
Courtney Adams
Kate Martin
Robert Hudson
Alison Marie Welsh
C.Kirk
Misty Maberry
Eric Baze
Clay Driver
Studio Fling (pieces from Paul, Rob Jr., and Tony)


Bands

White Light Fever
Blackheart Society
Arguing Semantics
Robert Jones
The Vibes
Electric Church
The Grass Fight
The Pumpkin Sea

and DJ Fred Deviant

AUGUST 25TH
THIS SATURDAY
ALL AGES
at the "SPACE" on MAIN ST and MALCOM X

$5 BYOB

6:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FUCKING FIRE HER!!!!!
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS WATCHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THEY THINK THAT OUR CITY THINKS THAT SALIM, BLACK TIE D., & THE FUCKING SLACK ARE THE BEST WE HAVE!!!
PLEASE SOMEONE FIRE HER STUPID ASS!

7:54 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Sex in Dallas "Berlin Rocks"

8:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah write about the same Denton bands everyday instead of the same Dallas bands!

10:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Trust me, the country is NOT watching.

Nobody cares. Those who want good music know where to find it and arent looking in the Dallas Observer.

10:40 PM  
Blogger Chad said...

Well who the hell are we suppose to talk about on music blogs then?

Even though us uber elite bloggers hear about certain Dallas/Denton area bands that are "talked about all the time" doesn't mean that someone who picks up a copy of the Observer at Denny's has.

The majority of DFW citizens young and old, view the Observer as an independent press. Which it obviously isn't, but that is what being presented to John Q. Public. Unfortunately The Observer is the face for "independent" thought. Which it obviously isnt.

11:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

John Q Public is going to like those middle of road bands that the Observer writes about, that's why they write about them. Same reason clothes at the Gap arent all that fashionable and the big blockbusters arent that great of movies.

Anyone who cares to find music that is a little more interesting is reading blogs and magazines and going to shows, so everybody quit bitching about the Observer.

As soon as they started writed about the bands you liked and everyone started going to thier shows you'd say that band has sold out.

I never understand why those who like things that are perhaps "indie" (to use an horrible choice of words) or not so mainstream complain that what they've found isn't mainstream.

And i never understood that have your cake and eat it too phrase or else that would be perfect in this situation.

11:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You get what you pay for.

12:13 AM  
Blogger Chad said...

I just believe that we underestimate John Q. Public. Maybe the reason they like all the middle of the road stuff (not that there is anything wrong with middle of the road) is because that is all that is being presented to them.

How do people know if they are going to be interested in something if they don't know it exist. An unhip computer tech in a suburb of Fort Worth is not going to know what We Shot JR is, and even if they did the general mean spiritedness of Mr. Anonymous surely won't inspire them to stick around.

I'm not saying it is an indie = good / mainstream = bad argument. I have bought Lilly Allen's three times already. What I am saying it is a travesty that a publication like the Observer doesn't take advantage of it's "alternative and free" status and use it for the good of the community by giving voices to those that would other wise be unheard in the mainstream press.


I don't blame this solely on publications like the Observer, but also on the elitism that is inherent in any kind of "indie" community.

12:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Honestly, I knwo Sam M. pissed a lot of people off, but COME ON. This Jonanna bitch is AWFUL. Sam was kind of annoying but he talked about cool bands and interesting events. Jonanna? wtf? who is this? I can't even read the Observer anymore and I used to enjoy doing that

9:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you people are boring.
same crap everyday
i'm anti establishment as much as anybody else,
but you guys do it for lack of anything better to do.

i feel really sorry for your generation.

(and i'll be happy when you get off your butts and go back to school)

11:31 AM  
Blogger stonedranger said...

it's awesome when these older people with "experience" can come on here and figure out everyone's motives based on anonymous comment posting.

Well done sir.

11:38 AM  
Blogger DTC said...

im actually starting to think that this isnt even jonannas fault. yes, shes a piss poor editor and writer, and yes, she doesnt really even give a shit about the 'scene', but i think that may be exactly what new times is looking for. the observers music section has gotten progressively more pedestrian over the past 5 or so years, and it was never the Met to begin w/ (yes, im old enough to have read the Met). i think that in order to open up their music section to a wider audience (ie those folks who dont really give a shit about anything more challenging than Jackopierce) and gain advertisement, they've made the conscious decision to dumb the whole section down and make it more palatable to both republicans and advertisers.

11:44 AM  
Blogger amandacobra said...

wait, is no one gonna mention that she spent nearly FOUR paragraphs discussing driving directions, highways and exits, alternate routes, bar selection and nearby restaurants?

ok, that's it. we now know that google maps, trip advisor or citysearch could (and maybe did?) write the observer music section.

12:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Old Geezer: fuck you. Your generation created the self-devouring capitalistic mess that finds us entrenched in Iraq.

Jonanna: Please quit. Just stop. You are a miserable writer and you couldn't be more out of touch.

Black Tie Dynasty: I truly feel sorry for you.

Stoned Ranger: I like you

12:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

dear jagermeister,

I'm not sure if you've ever sponsered this publication before, but the music editor has made some sweeping generalizations about your product, the people that use them, and the type of venues your product is sold in. I think you should consider pulling any type of advertising from them, unless they make a public apology.

Here is a link to the story.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-08-23/music/smoke-on-the-water#comments

1:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not to breath fire into the belly of this troll.. but..

"
you people are boring.
same crap everyday
"

well then I guess you are a daily reader, and we thank you for your time...

"
i'm anti establishment as much as anybody else,
but you guys do it for lack of anything better to do.
"

Lack of anything better to do?? I for one, and not to speak for the rest of the staff on weshotjr, but they are in similar positions as I; and have plenty to do outside weshotjr..

It is a true sacrifice to work on this site. I can easily switch my weshotjr time with more time for lecturing, writing papers, and other personal interest.But I personally feel weshotjr is something 'better' to do, and I personally feel that the members on staff feel this is something 'better' to do for all of north Texas.. Or else I would have stopped helping a long long time ago..

this being said I feel there is a little mockery of anti-establishment in your comment so you must have said this in jest, trolling, or ignorance of the definition of 'anti-establishment'..

i digress..

"
i feel really sorry for your generation.
"

why? we're going to live longer..

"
(and i'll be happy when you get off your butts and go back to school)
"

if you still believe in the institutions of school then you must be of an older generation

3:27 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fight the powder!

4:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"if you still believe in the institutions of school then you must be of an older generation"

I love this. I'm going to use it.
When are people going to realize that college is just another way for people to get your money? That's why the state keeps increasing course loads. Everytime my Mom tells me I need to go back to school, I can't help but laugh.
Also, I'm starting to see the same way about "steady jobs." I haven't had a steady job in months and I can still pay the rent and eat. That's all I need.
Also, to the person that said this,
"graffiti art is so lame, and the fact that people take it seriously and have exhibits for that shit is even a bigger joke."
People thought the same way about cubism, Italian Futurism, impressionism, Dadaism, pretty much all art. Well, maybe they didn't call it lame, but it wasn't accepted as art. What do you call art? I saw a really nice painting in a hotel the other day.

4:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

12:58
i am not that old, and i didn't vote for that mess
blame the masons

3:27
again, i am not that old,
and i hope when the kids go back to school or where ever, they bring a broader pespective to discuss
other than the same old, same old argument

since you'd rather lecture the anonymous masses here,
try covering something new for a change
the wafting of smelly socks and farts is starting to fill the air like a dirty dorm room

who cares about all the punks trying to stay punk by dressing the part
how about something real and honest instead of covering the fashion parade currently in vogue with all the young ones

4:31
go learn something somewhere,
anywhere
just don't vomit out your pithy insignificant all over a page,
thanks.

5:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pithy? Yes.
Insignificant? Hardly.
Here is a list of the cost for one year of all the state universities in Texas.
http://www.collegefortexans.com/paying/collegecostsfull.cfm
These are an average of 6% increase from the previous year. And the previous year was an average of 8% increase, the largest in the nation.
With increases like this you would expect the learning environment to be better, such as having smaller class sizes. But not exactly, most of these increases fund the new state of the art recreation facilities and other student life centers. How many of you UNT or UTA students actually use the new rec. centers? But hey, you're paying for it.
And don't even get me started on the amount of American's with bachelors degrees that end up working at Starbucks.

6:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Means:

"I haven't had a steady job in months and I can still pay the rent and eat. That's all I need."

The Ends:

"And don't even get me started on the amount of American's with bachelors degrees that end up working at Starbucks."

9:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

actually Chad, i think you are under estimating this John Q Public guy (i bet he got made fun of a lot in jr. high)... to think he cant find a music blog an to think he is going to be offended by an anonymous comment? He is must be an insecure basket case, but maybe it was growing up with that name.

5:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh, and geezer please shed some of your wisdom and let us know what the new "fresh" stance should be.

oh and i graduated 3yrs so im not going back to school, im here for good.

5:02 PM  

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