Weekender

FRIDAY

Blixaboy/Anthony Stanford/Personal Victories/H...N (Fallout Lounge): Wanz Dover is hosting a new bi-weekly "variety show"-themed event at the Fallout Lounge, that will include a mix of DJs and bands, with Dover (Blixaboy) himself closing out the night. Acts this week include DJ Anthony Stanford, as well as the open-ended wash of twin guitar duo H...N. Finally, Personal Victories work as conveyors and collaborators of George Quartz, and I'm told that the group acts as a separate entity in addition to this collaboration. Farah had to cancel but should be back next month. Like Pooh Bro said, "Oh, bother."(DL

AV/Select/VMB (Zubar): This serves as DJ AV's birthday party, and if you show up you'll hear a lot of hip hop, reggae, and latin dance stuff, and a good time is almost a guarantee.

Hockey (Granada): This is, for some reason, a FREE show, and you can get on the guest list or whatever by RSVPing to jcprsvp@yahoo.com. I mean, I can think of a lot of reasons why I wouldn't pay to see this band, but I imagine there are a lot of people around here that wouldn't mind paying at all, so I'm puzzled. Either way, though, Capitol Records' Hockey are from Portland, OR, and you'd be surprised by that, actually, because they don't really sound like they're from anywhere. I mean, shit-- they just sort of sound like The Killers, MGMT, Passion Pit, IMA Robot (remember THAT crap?) and a bunch of other vaguely "indie" stuff, and its so bland, streamlined and marketable that it won't even piss you off, because its clearly meant for people ages 12-16 that really haven't heard anything released before 2004. Hockey also pulls one of my favorite lame band moves-- they have a song where they accidentally make fun of themselves. Check out their track "Too Fake" on their Myspace page. The line in the chorus where the main bro says "I'm just too fake for this world" is particularly humorous.

Slow Roosevelt/Element 80/System Overload/Hardway Down (Trees): It will be interesting to see how this ultimately turns out, booking wise anyways. Just because this show isn't exactly the Trees I have any fond remembrances of, that's okay. I think it's more honest. Some of my best memories from Trees aren't from watching the big national acts in a small setting, but rather from laughing at the barrage of bad Dallas bands that unjustifiably opened for said acts. Does anyone remember Pluto? The acoustic heavy band with a lead singer going off in an Vedder-voice about how his dad "thinks he's a pussy." What an uncomfortable lyrical era that was. Honesty is overrated. (DL)

Matthew Gray/Western Giants (All Good Cafe)

The Slow Burners/Record Hop/Polycorns (Dan's Silverleaf)

SATURDAY

Los Campesinos/Girls/Smith Westerns (the Granada): First of all, the packed show at Mable's in Denton last night was pretty fantastic all the way through, and Chicago's Smith Westerns were probably the highlight, although Fergus and Geronimo played an extremely well received set that I enjoyed quite a bit. I did kinda like some of the noisier stuff that the much buzzed about Girls did last night, but all any of us could seem to focus on was the fact that the lead singer reminded all of us of Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum. Even people who are way too young to actually remember Soul Asylum were saying so, and the fact that some of Girls' songs actually sounded like The Replacements meets doo wop didn't help matters. They are one of those bands that sound much better live than on record. Anyway, headliners Los Campesinos are sort of a strange band actually-- stylistically, their material is all over the place, everything from Yo La Tengo/Built to Spill influenced indie pop mixed with a distinctly British brand of pop punk. Not the most amazing thing you'll ever hear, but fun and mostly solid. But really, don't miss Smith Westerns-- I know they're like teenagers or whatever, but trust me.

ADD: Buzzer/Impediments/Uptown Bums (Cool Beans Roof): I haven't been in years, but I remember really loving Cool Beans' roof. San Francisco's Impediments remind me of a lot of first wave west coast punk, and the few songs I've been able to listen to were all fantastic, and truly sound like they could have been made way back then-- translation: not a shitty hipster rip off that just ends up sounding like indie garbage (which seems to be the case more often than not with bands who are supposed to sound like this). Tourmates Buzzer are quite similar in style and quality, and are maybe slightly more reminiscent of British groups with a touch of the Saints and Flying Nun thrown in for good measure-- this should be a great show, especially with the solid Uptown Bums opening. Kind of sad that I missed this yesterday, but I fucking work for a living you assholes. JK luv u mean it!

Dani Deahl/Disqo Disco/Passenger Panda (Fallout Lounge): The guys from Disqo Disco brought Dani Deahl to Fallout Lounge a few months ago and it was one of the better times I've had there in quite a long time-- the music was great and the place was packed. Deahl apparently had so much fun that she decided to come back and spend her birthday in Dallas, and we're lucky she did. You can stop by Disqo Disco's blog for a post on Deahl and a link to her latest mix, and we can tell you for sure that she knows what she's doing-- she runs Calamity Jane Records, an off shoot of the highly respected Rhythm, and she writes for URB and BPM magazines, among others. You might want to get to Fallout early on Saturday if her previous performance is any indication in the interest level people will have, and especially if you like house music, which is what she'll likely be focusing on.


Marilyn Manson/Slayer (Starplex): The only portion of this show that's even worthy of discussion will take place for one hour, starting at 827 PM on the "Rockstar" Main Stage, when Slayer will play. Every other horrible band on this rather large bill sounds like fucking Paul Simon's Graceland compared to them. Duh.

Fishboy/Iji/Watercolor Paintings (Hailey's): Kinda running out of time to write here, but Iji's naive indie pope sounds at least moderately interesting.

SUNDAY

For Your Pleasure with DJ G (Hailey's)

Dallas Record Convention (Westin Park Central Hotel Dallas located at 12720 Merit Drive in Dallas (located just south of 635 exit# 19 B aka Coit): This is apparently Dallas' first record convention in three years, and it's not a moment too soon. I have had to do a lot of shopping out-of-county, out-of-state, and even overseas if I can*, so this comes as a very welcome surprise. I have had a lot of "expert's luck" at these conventions, especially considering some rare scores like a Pere Ubu live record featuring a killer cover of The Seeds' "Pushing Too Hard," and a VHS tape featuring the odd pairing of Clan Of Xymox 4AD promos with a Bedhead live show. It's the kind of place where you can get a good estimate on the value of your Moe Tucker solo project t-shirt. True story. More info here (*I know I sound like an asshole, but I hate ordering records online. BORING.)