Darlington is back from its recent nine-country, 26-day tour of Europe. Joining singer-guitarist Christy Darlington and drummer Steve Visneau on the trip was erstwhile bassist Angelique Congleton, who is apparently back in the group these days, though that will probably last as long as the band's brief name change did. (For the record, the band went from Darlington to The Darlingtons back to Darlington, not that anyone noticed. As for us, we've learned not to get too familiar with anything new involving Darlington.) Now that they're back home, Darlington can start flogging Live Dallas 1999, its new live album on Mutant Pop Records. (The disc is only available via mail-order; head to www.mutantpop.com for more information.) The band will appear on the Dallas date (August 5) of this year's Warped Tour, playing on one of the various side stages at Artists Square. In the meantime, catch Darlington at the Galaxy Club on June 24. And pay attention: You might need to learn the songs for a short-lived run as the band's bassist...
KNON-FM (89.3) will host a benefit screening of Julien Temple's new documentary on the Sex Pistols, The Filth and The Fury, on June 8 at UA Cine. Temple previously filmed the Pistols for the infamous 1980 film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, which was about as horrid as you'd assume any cinematic effort involving former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren would be. Thankfully, The Filth and The Fury is told more from the band's point of view (Exterminate! Exterminate!), and it contains never-before-seen footage. Like Sid Vicious actually playing his bass while remaining both clothed and sober. The screening begins at 7:30 p.m., and admission is $5...
Former Radish bassist and occasional Dallas Observer sparring partner Debbie Williams and her band Viva Maxitone will be heading into Radish drummer John Kent's studio soon. Apparently, Kent's had a bit of time on his hands, what with singer-guitarist-reason Radish ever signed a record contract Ben Kweller living in Brooklyn and playing solo shows; good to see he's putting it to good use. Viva Maxitone hopes to record enough songs with Kent for an EP release in July or August. You can hear a sneak peek when Viva Maxitone performs June 16 at Bar of Soap. See, we can do that the nice way too.
Mandarin's debut full-length album (Driftline) should be released on Two Ohm Hop Records in the next few months, but if that's not soon enough, the group has a few songs available now to tide you over until then. First up is a collection of MP3s (http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/111/mandarin.html) that includes a couple of tracks off the forthcoming album. Also, the group is selling a six-song CD-R EP, titled World Upon a Pin, which features three songs off the unreleased disc as well. You can pick one up at the group's show at Gypsy Tea Room on June 30, which is the CD release party for Mandarin's Two Ohm Hop label mates, Sub Oslo. If you can't make it out to the show, you can obtain a copy of the EP for $5 by e-mailing [email protected]...
After a brief flurry of activity--a gig on June 8 with When Babies Eat Pennies at Curtain Club, as well as opening slots for Orchestra Morphine on June 15 at Trees (a Secret Machines set) and Baboon on June 17 at Rick's Place--Captain Audio will take some time off. Well, locally, at least; the band has an East Coast tour planned for July and August...
Good Records continues its string of stellar in-stores with sets by Engine Down and Mercury Program (June 13) and Solex (June 15). And the hits don't stop there: Frank Black will perform on June 27. Check www.goodrecords.com for more shows as they are added...
Hard Rock Cafe will host the CD release party for The Merge Local Access Sessions Vol. 1 on June 10. As the name implies, the disc (a co-release with One Ton Records) is a collection of live, in-studio, previously unreleased recordings from the likes of Pleasant Grove, Fixture, El Gato, Valve, Brasco, and Pinkston. El Gato, Pinkston, Valve, and Doosu will perform at the release show. It's worth mentioning that Hard Rock Cafe is no longer just a clever name, as the venue has recently started booking bands on a regular basis. Besides the Local Access shindig, Blue Sky Black (June 8), Neve (June 13), Red Animal War (June 15), and many more are scheduled to perform at Hard Rock in the coming weeks. Rock on...finally.
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