Weekender
Some fun stuff in Dallas this weekend and a couple interesting Saturday night shows in Denton. Let's do this:FRIDAY
The Party (Zubar): The Party DJs will be working with a four table set up tonight, which I assume means a lot of live mixing, etc. These guys could probably record themselves farting into a microphone and Zubar would STILL be packed with people waiting to hear it and let other people see them hearing it.
Big J and Schwa (Moosh): I stopped by Big J and Schwa's new weekly last week and discovered that it was actually a pretty good time. Moosh used to to be some vip room for a sushi place or something, but they've opened it up into what is actually a nice bar with a decent amount of dance floor room and a suitable sound sytem. And since it's right next door to Zubar, I guess there is no reason why you couldn't stop by if you're headed to the Party tonight.
Rush (Superpages.com Center)
SATURDAY
Terry Riley's "In C" (Ft. Worth Modern): This is a free performance of minimalist composer Terry Riley's famous "In C" by Elizabeth McNutt, a member of UNT's Nova Ensemble. I'm not sure exactly how many people will be participating in the performance along with McNutt, but you can read more about the original conception of the piece here. Starts at 2pm.
ADD: Dub Assembly vs Por Vida (Green Elephant): Spinning hip hop and dubstep.
Hotflash (Fallout Lounge): Killtronix and Schwa will be joined by Houston's Squincy Jones this evening, who seems to focus on dubstep and hip hop and a lot of harsh, high energy bass heavy crunk type of shit. He's got some really great remixes on his page as well.
Verulf/Matthew and the Arrogant Sea/New Science Projects/Febrifuge/The Heartstring Stranglers(Strawberry Fields): We've talked a great deal about Matthew and the Arrogant Sea and Verulf ever since we wrote that infamous article about them roughly seven or eight months ago, and it appears that a lot of other people are starting to take note of these two acts as well, given some of their new found friends in high places and high profile gigs. The other thing is that both are getting much better too. Good for them. The Heartstring Stranglers honestly probably have all the musical makings for a local hipster sensation: quirky, theatrical folk songs, lyrics sung in French, and a polished sheen that seems to be a prerequisite for the kind of "appeared in an Apple commercial" indie success that many younger bands seem to strive for these days. This is not a bad thing in and of itself, of course, and it should be noted that what they are doing is rather unique in the area and fairly interesting in the grand scheme of things... I just don't know if it's my thing. All of the material I've heard from them is well written and will obviously be appealing to a lot of Denton music consumers. Significantly more compelling in my mind is Febrifuge, another Denton act that I wasn't familiar with until recently. Do yourself a favor and check out the song "Adjusting Bodies" on the Myspace-- a sad pop ballad that sounds equal parts Jens Lekman, Phil Spector and Magnetic Fields with a touch of classic r&b burried deep beneath the layers of drama. The maturity, depth and power of this song is fairly remarkable, particularly for a relatively unheard of local artist, and I would guess that if this dude is able to crank out a few more like this, you'll be hearing much more about him very soon--highly recommended. By the way, this show is a charity event for the Center for Survivors of Torture, so quit being dickhole and show up for a while.
Hotflash (Fallout Lounge): Killtronix and Schwa will be joined by Houston's Squincy Jones this evening, who seems to focus on dubstep and hip hop and a lot of harsh, high energy bass heavy crunk type of shit. He's got some really great remixes on his page as well.
Verulf/Matthew and the Arrogant Sea/New Science Projects/Febrifuge/The Heartstring Stranglers(Strawberry Fields): We've talked a great deal about Matthew and the Arrogant Sea and Verulf ever since we wrote that infamous article about them roughly seven or eight months ago, and it appears that a lot of other people are starting to take note of these two acts as well, given some of their new found friends in high places and high profile gigs. The other thing is that both are getting much better too. Good for them. The Heartstring Stranglers honestly probably have all the musical makings for a local hipster sensation: quirky, theatrical folk songs, lyrics sung in French, and a polished sheen that seems to be a prerequisite for the kind of "appeared in an Apple commercial" indie success that many younger bands seem to strive for these days. This is not a bad thing in and of itself, of course, and it should be noted that what they are doing is rather unique in the area and fairly interesting in the grand scheme of things... I just don't know if it's my thing. All of the material I've heard from them is well written and will obviously be appealing to a lot of Denton music consumers. Significantly more compelling in my mind is Febrifuge, another Denton act that I wasn't familiar with until recently. Do yourself a favor and check out the song "Adjusting Bodies" on the Myspace-- a sad pop ballad that sounds equal parts Jens Lekman, Phil Spector and Magnetic Fields with a touch of classic r&b burried deep beneath the layers of drama. The maturity, depth and power of this song is fairly remarkable, particularly for a relatively unheard of local artist, and I would guess that if this dude is able to crank out a few more like this, you'll be hearing much more about him very soon--highly recommended. By the way, this show is a charity event for the Center for Survivors of Torture, so quit being dickhole and show up for a while.
Rival Gang/Mistress/Snuff American Style (Wisconsin): Hadn't really heard Snuff American Style until earlier today, but it sounds like some interesting snuff to me. Weird MacGuiver remixes and bits and pieces of found sound along with jumbled, mashed compositions backed with hip hop beats make up the basics of the sound here, and the results are often strange and funny. Throw in a bit of 8 bit blip and noise in the mix, and you have some stuff that is pretty unique for Denton. Kind of reminds me of Art of Noise mixed with Eno and Byrne and possibly one of those "goof off" Butthole Surfers songs (like there is any other kind) if it were covered by Crystal Castles on a mushroom trip. It'll be cool to see what this is like live. I still haven't seen Rival Gang live, but I've heard so many good things that I might drive up to Denton to judge the shit out of them for myself. The one track I DO have access to, on their Myspace page, reminds me of stuff like The Raincoats and the Breeders and Josef K, and those are all very good things. Looking forward to catching Andrew Michael and Shane English's extreme noise project Mistress as well.
Florene/Doyen/Sunnybrook/Cereboso (J&Js): I would suggest that fans of Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, and Iron and Wine will REALLY dig Sunnybrook's stuff. I'm not even the biggest fan of any of that kind of stuff, but I've found myself drifting back to Sunnybrook's Myspace page a couple times this week to check out "Waving Hands," which also seems to have some of the same eerie sadness found in my favorite 70's prog folk act, Pearls Before Swine, even if Sunnybrook is considerably more pop oriented.
SUNDAY
Yea Big and Kid Static/Sticky Buns/Farah/The Triggermen (Rubber Gloves): Yea Big and Kid Static tread dangerously close to being way too dorky for hip hop, but shit, the 8 bit influenced beats are pretty large and as MCs, these guys really have flow. I almost said no to this right of the bat, but the more I listen, the more I say yes.
97.9 The Beat Custom Car Show with Ludacris/Bun B/Rocko/Plies (Dallas Convention Center): This month's XLR8r cover boy and former UGK dude Bun B will be the most notable performer here, but I wouldn't mind goofing off to a Ludacris song or two. The best thing about this show, of course, is that it is a custom car show, which I'm guessing means 20 inch blades and all that shit. Should be fun as hell.
Florene/Doyen/Sunnybrook/Cereboso (J&Js): I would suggest that fans of Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, and Iron and Wine will REALLY dig Sunnybrook's stuff. I'm not even the biggest fan of any of that kind of stuff, but I've found myself drifting back to Sunnybrook's Myspace page a couple times this week to check out "Waving Hands," which also seems to have some of the same eerie sadness found in my favorite 70's prog folk act, Pearls Before Swine, even if Sunnybrook is considerably more pop oriented.
SUNDAY
Yea Big and Kid Static/Sticky Buns/Farah/The Triggermen (Rubber Gloves): Yea Big and Kid Static tread dangerously close to being way too dorky for hip hop, but shit, the 8 bit influenced beats are pretty large and as MCs, these guys really have flow. I almost said no to this right of the bat, but the more I listen, the more I say yes.
97.9 The Beat Custom Car Show with Ludacris/Bun B/Rocko/Plies (Dallas Convention Center): This month's XLR8r cover boy and former UGK dude Bun B will be the most notable performer here, but I wouldn't mind goofing off to a Ludacris song or two. The best thing about this show, of course, is that it is a custom car show, which I'm guessing means 20 inch blades and all that shit. Should be fun as hell.
posted by stonedranger at 11:01 PM
<< Home