Music

Odds & Ends

At this week's Dallas Video Festival, local audio gets the spotlight treatment

By Sam Machkovech 

Video killed the... : After staring at hours of movies and documentaries at this week's Dallas Video Festival (page 41), you'll need a good excuse to stand up, move around and shake off the popcorn bits that have gotten stuck to your shirt. A strong music presence at the festival should help...and no, we don't mean the goddamn Los Lonely Boys documentary. Friday night's Laptop Deathmatch event sees the competition's previous winners (Joe Butcher, Bexametric, Cygnus, etc.) perform their respective takes on improvised tech-insanity, along with a "stream of consciousness" feed of video effects provided by Sub Oslo's Paul Baker, at the Kalita Humphreys Theater's Videotheque at 9 p.m. This should be billed as the Deathmatch All-Stars, because the eight performers have proven themselves at countless competitions before. If you've yet to attend a Deathmatch, be sure to drive out for this one (or at least the official after party at Club One).

On Thursday, Borat-lovers Lazer whip out their fake Euro accents and cheesy beats at the Angelika Theater at 10:30 p.m. We approached the band members while they were out of costume before a recent Club Clearview gig and asked about a potential out-of-costume interview about their gimmick, their popularity and their fans at high-profile outlets like 1310 The Ticket, but we were turned down. The band has chosen to only give interviews while in character "until the band breaks up." The AAT staff has already started a pool.

If you see this blurb by Wednesday, August 9, you can still catch the screening of Jumping Off Bridges, a film by Austinite Kat Chandler, at 7 p.m. at the Angelika. Sufjan Stevens, Jose Gonzalez and American Analog Set contribute hipster cred to the film's soundtrack, as does our very own Bosque Brown, whose "Fire Fight" is tucked away in the closing credits. It's the most Bosque exposure we can expect for some time, as the group's upcoming vinyl-only release, Cerro Verde, still doesn't have a firm release date, and songwriter Mara Lee Miller recently announced that keyboard player and sister Gina is taking a break from the band since she is expecting. We'll update when more Cerro Verde info and concert dates are announced.

Playful on Sirius: We wish we could complain about countless requests for TV, radio and podcast interviews, but sadly, we're not in demand. In fact, offer airtime in any form and chances are we'll take it (here's lookin' at you, Dance Club 21). Luckily, we didn't have to beg for our latest shot. Chris Cantalini, the music blogger behind Gorilla Vs. Bear (gorillavsbear.net), invited us to guest on his Sirius Satellite Radio show this week...you know, the Wednesday night "Blogger Radio" series on Sirius' Left of Center that we hipped you to ("Plugged In," June 22) months before The Dallas Morning News did.

But the reason to listen this week isn't our appearance (though we're the first to ever utter the phrase "snaggletoothed, big-tittied babies" on American radio); rather, it's the hometown music. Hear the worldwide radio premieres of songs by locals such as Bosque Brown, PPT, Red Monroe, Money Waters and Pegasus Now, along with cuts by The Theater Fire, Midlake and Sorta (whose bassist Danny Balis co-hosts the episode as well).

The show airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday, August 9, on Sirius 26, and if you don't have a subscription, you can listen for free by logging onto Sirius.com, picking "listen now" and signing up for a free three-day trial. If the episode is re-run anytime soon, dates and times will be posted at Unfair Park.

Pop, pop, fizz: Plan on being near Athens, Georgia, on Saturday? At the city's huge Popfest 2006 concert (not to be confused with Fort Worth's Metrognome Popfest last month), our very own Happy Bullets and Fishboy share the day's schedule with the likes of the Circulatory System and the freakin' Apples in Stereo. Don't get too jealous, locals; you can help Fishboy celebrate his summer tour by seeing his homecoming concert on Monday at J&J's Pizza in Denton.

Handstamps: Mary J. Blige's Friday night appearance at Smirnoff Music Centre is all well and good, but you don't need to spend that much cash to see one of the hottest R&B singers in all of Texas. Dallas' very own Thesis plays an early, opening set at the Curtain Club on Friday, and if her recent Final Friday show was any indication, you're in for a wonderful neo-soul performance full of humor, style and one helluva voice. Show up early...Since members of the Numbers Twist currently live on opposite ends of the country, their rare Dallas-area gigs (such as Friday's at Hailey's) are must-see assaults of deadly riffs and whiplash-inducing time signatures.