Odds & Ends

Daddy knows best: The Polyphonic Spree's friendship with California's Grandaddy is no secret; the bands released a special split 7-inch in 2003, and Grandaddy front man Jason Lytle has given the Spree plenty of nice quotes for press clippings over the years (along with a T-shirt that he designed for Good Records' fifth anniversary). So it shouldn't come as a shocker that the folks at the Spree/Good collective were shaken up by Grandaddy's January announcement: They'd broken up and, worse, wouldn't tour to support their final album when it came out in May.

But wouldn't you know it, Good Records' friendship with the band pays off in extraordinary fashion, as Lytle will play a special acoustic in-store concert in Dallas on Tuesday, the same day the final album Just Like the Fambly Cat reaches stores nationwide. Seriously--he's eschewing his hometown on the release date (along with dozens of other "hip" cities) to celebrate the album's release in Dallas. Only a few of these in-stores will happen across the country in the next month, making this quite a treat already, but the Dallas one will be extra special as it will possibly be the only one to include original G-Daddy drummer Aaron Burtch as well. "It's kinda weird the way they broke up," Good manager Chris Pennsays, "but apparently [the duo] got together at Aaron's house, played and had a blast, so that was a green light to do the in-store." Shows don't get more can't-miss than this...aside from the Dallas Observer Music Awards, anyway (on the same night, grumble, grumble).

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Zero Furies: At last year's DOMAs, A Dozen Furies took the stage to accept their award for Best Metal Band and unleashed a load of contempt at the non-metal audience. Perhaps that anger was loosed when the guys in the Hourly Radio tried to accept ADF's award on their behalf, or maybe they wanted to pre-empt any crowd jokes about the band's recent victory on MTV's Road to Ozzfest, but no matter: They told the crowd to pretty much fuck off.

We're not expecting a repeat performance. That's not to say we know about their chances of winning (the envelope's still sealed, as the higher-ups don't trust AAT HQ's loose lips), nor do we believe the band has gotten any happier in the past year. We just don't know if they're gonna show up. On April 23, drummer Mike Miller posted on the band's Web site that the band had officially broken up: "We could go on and on about all of the reasons why, but when it comes down to it, it's because we've grown apart...I'm sure some might think we were a flash in the pan and now that our 15 seconds is over, we are quitting. Well, most of us have been doing this for close to 10 years and it's just time for some of us to move on."

Miller's post also thanks fans and says that the members will continue playing in bands as they part ways. From the look of it, though, the breakup wasn't too amicable, as ADF will not play their scheduled gig at Saturday's Ridglea Metal and Hardcore Fest in Fort Worth (though Miller says he'll be there to sell the band's leftover merch for cheap: "We have to get rid of it"). E-mails to the band and its management were not returned in time for press, but we're never ones to rule out one last ADF appearance at the DOMAs, middle fingers blazing.

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Handstamps: April's high-quality Wall of Sound Festival 2006 ran for too long, but the reborn Stumptone pumped a much-needed jolt into the fest's final, worn-out hours. The Fort Worth quartet's set was utterly impressive, full of noisy, organic, hook-laden semi-shoegaze that fared much better in concert than on the band's dated CDs. You're a damn fool if you miss their Dallas visit at Double Wide on Saturday, where they'll open for Pleasant Grove...On Friday night, Club Dada's Hard Night's Day happy hour will be followed immediately by a performance from Fishboy. This is a damn good thing, because after the dudes in pink shirts are scared away, we're sure Eric Michenerwill win over the happy hour crowd...After returning from a successful European tour with stellastarr*, The Hourly Radio begins a month-long residency at the Cavern on Sunday; each week's show is free and starts at 8:30 p.m... Hailey's hosts an all-ages end-of-school-year bash on Friday night, with Record Hop, Peter Schmidt, the Undoing of David Wright, Pilotdrift, Robert Gomez and a crapload more. Free for 21 and up, dirt cheap for the young'uns.