Chris Cornell is, no doubt, most well-known for fronting heavy rock outfits Soundgarden and Audioslave in the ’90s and ’00s, respectively. But when he performs at House of Blues this weekend, he won’t have the option of hiding behind a thunderous wall of blistering guitar riffs. For the first time…
“Jump Around” was more than just a flash-in-the-pan radio hit — it’s been included on pretty much every “best hip-hop songs of all time” list. And who could disagree? It was a hell of a song. Plus, due to its constant usage in every sports arena on the planet, the song…
When we first caught wind of tomorrow night’s House of Pain reunion show at South Side Music Hall, we weren’t sure whether to be shocked or bemused. Let’s face it: The group hasn’t had anything close to a big radio hit in nearly 20 years now. And, last we’d heard…
Japanther1 a.m. at Hailey’s Club Dr. Dog may hold the distinction of drawing the biggest crowd at this year’s Conferette thus far, but Japanther’s was by far the rowdiest bunch the still young festival has seen. Only seconds into their opening number, the duo managed to ignite copious amounts of…
Three years into its existence and, finally, 35 Conferette organizer Chris Flemmons is seeing his dream of a walkable music festival in downtown Denton turn into a reality. We’ve seen shades of the festival shaping up this way for a few years now. The obligatory backstory: After a drunken conversation…
Although it’s entering its third year as a full-blown four-day walkable festival, the newly re-branded 35 Conferette can trace its roots back to 2005. That year, Chris Flemmons, frontman of Denton band The Baptist Generals, organized a day show in Austin during the week of South by Southwest and booked…
It doesn’t seem to matter what’s going on in Libya, Egypt or even Washington D.C.; somehow, a pretty mediocre actor’s personal life has been managing to lead every newscast and dominate discussion on every talk radio show throughout the past week. In some ways, though, the media’s Charlie Sheen obsession…
Last week, without a great deal of forewarning, Radiohead surprised fans by releasing their latest album, King of Limbs, only five days after announcing its impending release. And although it hasn’t been out all that long, it is already being hailed as perhaps the band’s “most challenging” album yet. Which, hey,…
By our estimation, 2010 can be best summed up as the year of beach music. All year long, it seemed, new bands from coastal regions were cropping up with their hazy guitar tones and rich vocal harmonies, all soaked in reverb and packed with more pop hooks than we previously…
On December 31, 2009, when Chris Cornell tweeted that the “Knights of the Soundtable” would “ride again,” fans assumed 2010 would become known as the year of Soundgarden, finding the ’90s grunge legends reforming and regaining their once dominant form. Disappointingly, they were only half right; the rockers did ultimately…
Plenty of bands these days hail from California and boast a heavily reverb-washed brand of surf goth that could just as easily pass for a Beach Boys b-side as a long-lost Ramones cassette demos. This formula worked quite well for bands like Wavves and Best Coast last year, as they…
Smith Westerns, YuckThe LoftFebruary 9, 2011 Better than: the Black Eyed Peas halftime show… Last night’s impressive showing for Chicago’s Smith Westerns and UK counterparts Yuck was especially significant considering it was not only a Tuesday, but a night where threats of a repeat of last week’s ice and snow…
The NFL Pepsi Fan Jam with Kid Rock, Duran Duran and Jason DeruloVerizon Theatre, Grand PrairieFebruary 3, 2011 Better than: Finding out your girlfriend has Hepatitis C On a night where camera crews were absolutely everywhere (including two large camera cranes) and where directors kept giving instructions over the PA…
For the past couple of years, local shredders Free Reign have been making their case as being the “heaviest” metal band around. And, with a lineup that boasts the 6-foot-8, 315-pound Dallas Cowboys tackle Marc Colombo on rhythm guitar and vocals, 6-foot-6, 355-pound Cowboys guard Leonard Davis on bass, and…
Getting typecast as “that St. Patrick’s Day band” could be a terrifying prospect. But whereas some respond to such designation by playing down certain hackneyed elements of their culture as an attempt to avoid becoming cliché, Los Angeles’ Flogging Molly, whose combination of the traditional elements of Celtic music with…
This whole “Super Bowl” thing has been pretty unavoidable this year — and, for obvious reasons, infinitely more so in these parts than in years past. Then again, with media all over the place, thousands of out-of-town-guests, and an alleged 100,000 hookers (or not) converging in the metroplex this week…
Twenty-five years into an already remarkable career, rock ‘n’ roll’s most recognizable guitarist finally got around to releasing a proper solo album this past year. The album—which was originally going to be called Slash and Friends before the and Friends part was ultimately dropped—sees the famously coiffed shredder not only…
It can’t be easy to grow up with famous parents — especially when you plan to follow in their career footsteps. As tough as it can be for the typical (we use this phrase loosely) celebrity offspring, having the additional scrutiny of the expectations that come with having a Beatle…
Every few years it seems a new pandemic sweeps the nation. Usually occurring on or around television sweeps weeks, diseases like SARS and swine flu become hot-button topics that dominate news coverage as well as most other forms of popular media. Formerly innocuous water cooler conversations become monopolized by coworkers’…
Tonight, groundbreaking experimental rapper Kool Keith will be gracing The Loft with his presence. And we’re hella stoked. Not only is the rapper one of our favorites, but his skill set is undeniable and his advancements in the “horrorcore” and “porncore” genres are fairly irrefutable. Plus. he’s just plain fascinating…
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, there were few bands higher on the proverbial food chain than Creed, with their first three multi-platinum albums amassing a total sales of over 30 million copies during their heyday. But dozens of controversies by wheels off frontman Scott Stapp (see: making a…
When we first heard about a planned Wu-Tang reunion tour that would be making a stop at the Granada Theater, we couldn’t help be just a little skeptical. Due to plenty of turmoil and drama among the group and its — at times extremely unpredictable — members, we’ve wondered aloud…
