Weekender 2/23-2/25

(By SR and DL)

FRIDAY

Angry Businessmen/Koji Kondo/Trifle Tower/Heart Rapers/Sparlin, Jessels/Bill Stewart's Dance Band/Teenage Cool Kids (715 Panhandle in Denton) This looks like a show and a half at a place I've heard good things about but have yet to visit. As soon as I saw this lineup, I knew that had to change. Angry Businessmen rose from the now defunct and very missed Tyrannosaurus X. This group is considerably less aggravated though by no means less powerful than that late group. There is some humor mixed in to their short blasts of bass and drum accompanied rants about everything from how stomach-churningly polluted Galveston is to why Barq's is not true root beer. A live experience like no other. Koji Kondo was discussed in a show review earlier this week and they can play comfortably on someone's floor as they prefer. Their avant rock disjointedness combined with the monsoon-like crush of their rhythm section might just take your head clean off. Trifle Tower plays more dramatic and complex hardcore with very busy drumming and scream to screech vocals. Heartrapers is somewhere along those lines but less serious and with more traditional Rock and Roll showmanship. Bill Stewart's Dance Band is an improv group with performances featuring everything from old Dixieland to free jazz. Sparlin, Jessels is understated acoustic singer/song-writer fare that is heavily influenced by Magnetic Fields and similarly upset gentlemen. Teenage Cool Kids, I know almost nothing about except that their music has been repeatedly described as "90's Alt Rock" which is a pretty brave description. That's obviously the new "80's Retro" so I guess we all better get with it.



Alex Atchley Experience/Plid/Girls Rise With Heat/Sydney Confirm/Lazer (Rubber Gloves): This show is subtitled Electroshock 1: Rise of The Robotniks and is a thematically combined group of artists that feature electronics and digital beats in their music. The lineup includes the notorious Lazer, Houston's new wave influenced Plid, and the bizzare Sydney Confirm. Alex Atchley and Girls Rise with Heat standout since they tend to take a spastic and unpredictable approach to performing live.

Burnt Sienna Trio/Cartright/South Austin Jug Band (Dan's Silverleaf): This show is the polar opposite of the first two shows we mentioned and includes three groups much more influenced by folk, blues and country. Cartright and Burnt Sienna tend to infuse their American Roots leanings with rock dynamics and both are known and widely respected as live acts. South Austin Jug Band was a little too 95.3 The Range for me but your mom might think it's cool.

SATURDAY


ADD: How could we be dumb enough to forget the legendary Jonathan Richman at Gypsy? To be honest, I don't know much about what he's been up to lately, but even if the answer is nothing, the $12 cover is worth it just to see him on a stage.

Hot Flash w/ Stephen R and Schwa (Fallout Lounge): Don't know if you've had a chance to go to one of the Hot Flash parties yet, but this monthly event has gained a rather large following quite quickly, and there's good reason for it: the atmosphere and tunes at the past two parties have been fantastic, and this time will probably be even better. Stephen tells us that this weekend's set will include a healthy dose of classic acid house and new rave tracks as well as the usual dose of funk, disco, hip hop and whatever else they decide to spin. The place usually gets packed after midnight, so get there early if you need to be drunk in order to dance.

Midlake/ Tacks, The Boy Disaster/St. Vincent (Granada Theater): Don't let indie rock trendsters bring you down too much, ok? Yeah, I know its really annoying to hear people tell you that being influenced by Fleetwood Mac and 70's soft rock is "the new coolest thing," because lets face it: no amount of irony will ever make Bread or America cool. That being said, Midlake's latest record was one of the most cohesive local releases of 2006, and I found it to be quite enjoyable as a whole, despite the easily marketable trend that some people tried to create around it (of course, it is entirely possible that this all occurred exclusively in the Weshotjr spam email folder). The few times I've seen Midlake perform live haven't completely blown me away by any means, but one of those times was last year at SXSW when they played right after a larger than life surprise set from the Flaming Lips, so its probably unfair to judge them based on that. And besides, Denton bands are so hot right now, and you might be curious to check out Gorilla vs Bear favorite St. Vincent, who I've actually grown to like a bit myself.

Party Ends Midlake After-Party with The Laughing/Prayer for Animals/The Lemurs/Flashlight Party (The Cavern): Rockin' blog dudes over at Party Ends have put together this after party at the Cavern with a few of Austin's more buzzed about indie bands and DJ appearances from Flashlight and one of the dudes from Midlake (sorry, don't remember which one.) Anyway, this this is FREE with your Midlake ticket stub, and five bucks otherwise. You know we've been Prayer For Animals fans for a little bit, and although I'm not completely amazed with the tracks I've heard from The Laughing or The Lemurs, both sound like they could be a lot of fun live, meaning that taking your drunk ass to this show might be a pretty good idea.

Zanzibar Snails/Great Tyrant/Harry Has A Head Like A Ping Pong Ball (Secret Headquarters): Impressive lineup that even includes a band that I thought had broken up. Bands are like soap opera characters sometimes. Zanzibar Snails has members of Idi*Amin but their sound is somehow even freer and less defined than Idi's music. There is still Sinewave generator as well as the nervous interplay between sax bleats and scratchy guitar, but the lack of drums tends to let the music wander to previously unexplored places in sound. Great Tyrant's devastating goth-prog might just be too huge for this little room but I still hope to be in the rubble if that's the case. Harry Has A Head Like A Ping Pong Ball sounds like the backing band for a John Zorn project with many tempo and even genre changes in a given song. Note: Earlier in the day Zanzibar Snails will also perform at: Counter Culture Vintage Factory in Deep Ellum, 2701 Main Street, Dallas at 4PM.


And/Or Show #8: Opening Reception featuring work by Chad Hopper + John Michael Boling and Javier Morales (And/Or Gallery in Dallas): Chad Hopper has long been one of my favorite artists in the state. I've spent way too much time over the years on his website, which is a beautiful combination of art and music. His collage work and paintings make many subtle and intelligent comments on consumer culture and I've laughed out loud many times at the barely hidden brilliance of his visual messages as well as his lyrics. This show also features rising video and New Media collaborators John Michael Boling and Javier Morales.

Divided Like Saints/A Childlike Fear/Nathan Browningham (Rubber Gloves): Divided Like Saints is a Georgia duo that plays what some call "Regressive Rock" based on preserving the immediacy and excitement of live performance by practicing as little as possible. The resulting music is actually pretty good and doesn't sound like you might imagine. Either they practice more than they let on or it proves my theory that most bands practice too much. A Childlike Fear plays quiet almost introspective music with random background sounds and drum machines. Nathan Browningham sounds like a song playing in the background of an episode of Hunter or Miami Vice. I don't care how ironic you are, please...don't.




SUNDAY

SR EDIT: Guess I forgot to mention the Laptop Deathmatch at Doublewide, which I believe gets under way at about 9pm... this is really a great chance to see the most eclectic line up of electronic performers that you'll find anywhere in the DFW area... some not as good as others, but the cream of the crop at LTDM make the whole thing more than worth it. They'll only be doing a couple of these this year apparently, so catch them while you can.