Weekender

FRIDAY

S.O.T.E.G./An-ten-nae/Seied/Carbon Community/Blixaboy/Left/Right/Degro/DJ PWR/Distinct/Soy_Capaz/Universol/Josh Kynd/Acidbeats/Jello/Nao/Joe C. (Whomperland located at 1800 Lear St. in Dallas)

The Dutchess And The Duke/Fergus And Geronimo/Greg Ashley (Rubber Gloves): Another band in a seemingly never ending line of artist trying to put their spin on the eternally idolized early to mid sixties blues tinged rock and roll. The songs are short, loose but focused; leaving no breathing room in their albums short running time. D&D believe enough in the power of mid 60's bluesy rock n' roll and aren't afraid to use it with out apologizes. But when it comes down to it, it's not 1969 and we have seen numerous revivals and they aren't bring much new to the table. While not particularly inspired, the music comes from a honest place which no doubt resonates with it's fans. I might take a listen if they ever move on to their Goats Head Soup faze, but as of now it's nothing that we haven't heard before. Fergus and Geronimo who follow the same hero worship musical tendencies, but with their eyes toward early Beach Boys pop. They also seem to be better at reinterpreting the styles they love as oppose to simply recreating them. (FP)

Farah/Blixaboy/DJ G (Fallout Lounge): t's easy to dismiss Farah as a train wreck waiting to happen. Or maybe a train that has already derailed. Her makeup is always a little off, her second hand designer clothes hanging off her pale flesh, the one note beats that haze through the air and that...voice. It is hard to tell where exactly Farah is coming from with her art, but the consistency in her performance leads me to believe she knows exactly what she is doing. And if she doesn't, she sure doesn't give a shit what you think about it.

Much has been made of her association and work with Italians do it Better label and more specifically Johnny Jewel from who has produced a couple of her tracks, and while that music is great I believe it is her live performance where she really shines. I have followed Farah awhile and it's been quite the trip to see her opening for Glass Candy, covering their songs before they go on then later be featured on the Italians do it Better comp and now on to wherever the heck she might end up next. While she is not going to win any American Idol competitions, Farah is a fantastic, albeit unconventional performer. She has the gift of non-nonchalance that keeps some of the audience questioning with intrigue what exactly it is they are witnessing while the rest of the crowd might be laughing at her. I have a feeling that is what she wants, and I know that's what I want. The line between the artist and the art is definitely blurred here, but if you spend too much time focusing on the "honesty" of her performance you will be missing the point.

If you don't like watching performers answer their phones or put on make-up while performing then this show may not be for you. Someone should invite Eric Keyes to see what he thinks about it. The scarcity of her performances is also one of the exciting things about her, so be sure not to miss this one, because who's know when the next one will be. DJG will be spinning between sets, and he's the best DJ in the area for people are into music but not necessarily into DJs. Local electronically gifted and cool band shirt owning act Blixaboy rounds out this solid night in big D. (FP)

SATURDAY

Hot Flash 3 Year Anniversary Party: Duey FM, Neiliyo, Richard Henry, Killtron, Schwa, Genova (Fallout Lounge): Wow, so Hot Flash has been going on for three years now? Really? I'll be the first to admit that for the better part of the last year I lived in Dallas, I sort of started to lose track of the local hipster dance scene after almost every single one of the 8 million weekly and monthly DJ parties popping up around town started filling up with the kind of douchebag element that I started hanging out in East Dallas to escape from in the first place. This isn't a critique of the organizers or DJs involved with these parties at all, and as a matter of fact, its probably more a reflection of their successes than their failures. It's now safe to say that DJ Nature's second tenure at Rubber Gloves in early 2006 was the beginning of a very noticeable transformation of Dallas and Denton nightlife. Nature was the first DJ in the metroplex (h8 that word), as far as I know, who was keeping up with everything that was going on in international dance music from San Juan to Berlin to New York, and he was the first to realize that it was ok to play M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, a Smiths song and a straight up dance hall single back to back to back to back, setting the foundation in the area for the genre jumping sound that is taken for granted almost every night in places like Hailey's, Fallout Lounge and, gulp, Ghost Bar. The formula sounds simple enough, but trust me, the wasteland that was Dallas dance music back in 2006 was sorely lacking a DJ with Nature's sensibilities. Later that same year, Nature joined DJs Sober and Select to start the monthly Party events at Zubar, and most of you probably know where it goes from there-- soon enough, it seemed like the whole city was trying to get into Zubar each time the trio played, and after their success was eventually noticed by the Dallas Morning News, Observer, Star Telegram and other mainstream local media outlets, dozens and dozens of similar events started popping up all over the place and getting quite popular with folks on both sides of Central Expressway, leading us to where we are today-- the once underground community surrounding the Party and associates has reached relative mainstream acceptance amongst local dance music fans of all stripes. Anyway, Hot Flash was right up there with the Party amongst the pioneers of this miniature local movement, and for anyone to do anything for three years in Dallas is quite impressive, and a testament to the abilities and track selections of the DJs as well as the collectively friendly vibe this night has always exuded, and they deserve to be recognized for it. (SR)

Art Conspiracy (Resolana Benefit) featuring Telegraph Canyon/Boom Boom Box/RTB2 (511 West Commerce in Dallas):

The Beaten Sea/Naptime Shake/Slow Burners (Good Records):

Dub Assembly with Kaiten/Anna Love/Pandai'a/Mundo/Royal Highnuss (Green Elephant)

ADD:

Dave Burrell (Sandaga Market located at 1325 E. Levee St. in Dallas, TX): Presented by Inner Realms/Outer Realms, the show organizing entity run by Aaron Gonzalez. Acclaimed free jazz pianist, liked mostly by people who actually like music and write for highbrow magazines. I mean in that in the best possible way. Breath of fresh air around here to have a show like this. (DL)

Video/True Widow/The River Mouth (606 Congress In Denton): It would be stupid not to attend this if you're in Denton. Video features Harpal Assi aka Bad Lieutenant, who is a fantastic bass player. (DL)

SUNDAY

Nitzer Ebb (Lizard Lounge): British industrial pioneers Nitzer Ebb are one of those groups that has been much more influential than most people realize, playing a role in bridging the gap between early electronic dance, rough early industrial and late 80's house/pop dance music, a mixture that would go on to form the basis for a great deal of extremely popular music in the 1990s (see everything from Nine Inch Nails to the Prodigy to White Zombie to KMFDM). With influences ranging from 70's German group DAF to early Human League to Cabaret Voltaire, Nitzer Ebb began with a rather harsh and mechanized (bordering on militant) take on industrial but always incorporated elements of dance music that had largely been absent from early industrial experimentation, pushing their material closer and closer to pop viability without ever really compromising anything. Essentially, instead of moving away from their harsher roots, they made it more acceptable for the dancefloor to welcome such harsh, aggressive sounds, delivering some pretty dark tracks to a much wider audience than anyone could have probably expected even a couple years before the release of their excellent 1987 debut full length, That Total Age. Seeing these legends at Lizard Lounge will likely present its own set of challenges, but if I were in Dallas this weekend it would still be at the top of my weekend musical priorities list. (SR)