For the first time since New Year's there are plenty of musical options to choose from tonight -- good news, surely, for music fans who worry that the Frankie 45 memorial tonight, which is also serving as the grand re-opening of Club Dada, might prove a little too heavy to handle.
Frankie 45 Memorial Concert with Leg Sweeper, The Double Downs, Here Holy Spain, The Phuss and others at Club Dada
A lot of great bands and a lot of wonderful people will gather together
tonight to pay tribute to a young man who has left this world far too
early. As I write this, I still cannot believe that Frank Campagna Jr.
is not going to be there himself tonight, knocking back a couple of cold
ones and telling me how overrated Denton is. Sometimes, it's only music
that can help us escape life's tragedies.
Western Giants, Sam Robertson and The Young Maths at The Moon Bar in Fort Worth
Those who couldn't make it to Denton last night to catch The Young Maths
have a second opportunity tonight as the band opens this show in
Cowtown. Added incentive is the fact that two fine acts from Denton fill
out this nice triple bill. I've always thought Western Giants were an
unappreciated band. Kennon Talley and crew are capable of approaching
the greatness of Calexico. Given the right producer, Lord knows what
might take place. This is the beginning of a winter tour for Western
Giants as the band hits the road with Sam Robertson, a gal with a lot to
say and a damn pretty way of saying it.
Horse Opera at City Tavern
Jimmy Deveney and Ben Sparks are the nucleus of Austin's Horse
Opera, an old-school and unapologetic alt-country/cow-punk band. Shades
of '50s and '60s hardcore honky-tonk mingle with the punk spirit of
Rocket From the Crypt as Deveney lyrically bemoans just about everything under the
hayseed sun. Sure, you've heard stuff like this before, but Horse Opera
is just good enough at it that you might forgive the lack of originality.
Monte Montgomery, J Charles and the Train Robbers, The Red 100s, Ryan Thomas Becker at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton
These are actually two separate shows tonight, with guitar wizard Monte Montgomery performing at 8 p.m. and the all-local triple-bill taking over Dan's starting at 10 p.m. It could feasibly work as a single bill, though, as each of these acts has developed a reputation for various kinds of guitar wizardry.
