Weekender

Check our show calendar for more shows, and read this (written by SR and DL):

FRIDAY

Morrissey/Courteeners (Palladium): I was lucky enough to get a free wrist band at SXSW a couple of years ago, and everyone tried to talk me out of seeing Morrissey. As a lowly wristband-holder, I was told that it wasn't even worth trying to get in. I walked from one side of downtown to the other, stood in line for awhile, and eventually walked in, right up front with a crowd that was shall we say...enthused. When the opening chords of late-period classic "First Of The Gang To Die" came crashing over us, all the congestion and commotion of the festival seemed to evaporate. After watching so many unkempt and scraggly-themed affairs, this was truly a show, and one of the best arguments you'll ever witness for good old fashioned, show business: A guy that knows how to actually perform, sing, and dress. And undress. And dress again. I think he changes his shirt twelve times or something, but the best part was the crowd fighting over the designer apparel he had carelessly tossed into the audience, for a full fifteen minutes, until it was torn to shreds. I've made this comparison for years, but Morrissey really is the closest thing to a British Sinatra. Even as he ages, releasing album after album of sometimes highly questionable material, his personality is so overwhelmingly captivating that he saves even the blandest of songs. One thing he will never lose is the crown for song titles. From the newer, "Something Is Squeezing My Skull," and "Because Of My Poor Education," to my all-time favorite, "There's A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends." There are none better.

Klever & Craze/The Party (the Loft):  Klever and Craze are back in Dallas again for what will likely end up functioning as a Morrissey after party since admission to this is free with a Morrissey ticket stub.  This show will actually be taking place at a room inside Gilley's, which is next door to the Loft and the Palladium, due to problems with the Loft's floor that many of you might have originally noticed at that girl talk show in 2007 where the floors were shaking and pulsating up and down.  Will probably be a pretty crazy party.  

Radio UTD Prom Party with Boogie Boarder/Bark Bark Bark/Snakes Say Hiss (Galaxy Rooms @ UTD):  Radio UTD put this line up of out of town bands together for students and non students alike-- free with a student ID and $5 or the rest of ya.  Boogie Boarder play that kind of spastic, odd tempo, high energy post-punk influence stuff that the kids love to dance to, while Snakes Say Hiss are kind of a pop punk and hip hop influenced synth dominated group that sounds a lot like some of the more popular chiptune groups and will appeal to fans of bands like the Death Set, although I think they are actually a bit more interesting than that group in some respects.   

SAS with Select and Schwa (Zubar):  Spinning lots of old school house, hip hop, funk and disco.  It's free and its in the back room.

Yeahdef Hip Hop Concert with Damaged Goods/Ty City/Ian Bangs/Moses Uvere/S.M.U.G. (Rubber Gloves):  Overall a solid hip hop show with more hits than misses, Damaged Goods of course will be the highlight here.

Nervous Curtains/The Great Tyrant/When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth/Krankenhaus (Club Dada)

Clint Niosi/Kristina Morland/Miss Celia (Annex House)


SATURDAY

Ariel Pink/Vivian Girls/Fight Bite (Hailey's):  We've talked several times on here about the roll of the dice you take when you see Ariel Pink play live-- he's either really brilliant or mainly there to fuck around, depending on the kind of night you catch him on.  For many people, however, the real "buzz" of this show will be Vivian Girls, the Brooklyn based "noise pop" group that actually lives up to their billing-- with influences ranging from the Wipers to The Vaselines to the Byrds to 60's girl groups to surf rock, last year's self titled debut was one of the few absolute gems that was completely worthy of pretty much all they hype it received in the "indie" music press and blogosphere-- single "Where do you Run" is honestly about as perfect as they come.  Like you didn't already know, this show is highly recommended. 

T Tex Ostvig/Bobble Boys/Bad Sports/Uptown Bums/Stymie (818 Hickory St.):  Should be pretty rowdy.  

Warcola/Just Another Consumer/Caddis/Trifle Tower/Cleric/The Panix (Bike House, Dallas):  Bands start at 6pm with a $5 cover to benefit the Phoenix Project, the under construction Dallas punk DIY benue.  

Giggle Party/Top Secret Robot Alliance/Yeah Def/Five Easy Pieces/Big J/Short Attention Span Theater (Handsome Kitten, 824 Exposition Ave. ste. 8):  The first event at this DIY space in Dallas' Exposition Park kind of makes me wonder why there aren't several more spots like this in this comparatively inexpensive neighborhood full of lofts and gallery spaces.  Excited to see what kinds of events this place hosts in the future, but they're getting off to a pretty solid start.  

The Baptist Generals (Dan's Silverleaf)

Nervebreakers/Spector 45 (Club Dada): The Nervebreakers reunion show is understandably a big deal to anyone that's interested in local music history, and they are one of the few bright spots in the "few and far between" list of great Dallas bands. It makes sense that their beginnings are rooted in the 60's garage and 70's proto-punk era, as they are extremely early in the Dallas punk time-line. Their recordings are definitely on the quirkier, pre-hardcore side of punk rock, and they are worth investigating, especially if you consider that there are thousands of bands trying to sound like this right now. Reunion shows are a risky endeavor, but I wouldn't mind checking out one of the only bands that played a key role in making Dallas music a less embarrassing conversation that it might have been without them.

Four Days to Burn/The Great Tyrant/Soviet/Lychgate (Rubber Gloves)

SUNDAY