When you speak to famed DIY promoter Todd Patrick (better known as Todd P) about Mexico, you’re taken aback by his optimism. He talks about the growing middle class and its effect on the country’s economy. He talks about the youth’s passion for the arts, and he never fails to…
There is one radio station in DFW that takes the time to play an interesting mix of music every day. This same station also takes the opportunity to discuss and explore music in ways that all the other stations are sorely lacking. The thing is, this station just so happens…
The Sundown at the Granada is a dangerous place to jokingly ask for shots while competing in a dating game. I missed the Grammys, my train stop and my bed when I tried to fall into it. When the theater announced they would be doing a dating game to give…
Since 2006, Austin’s Balmorhea have been mining the ground of minimalistic post-rock to much critical acclaim. Throughout their career the band’s music has always had a strong narrative. Each track feels as if a short story is being told. The band’s latest, Stranger, sees the group stepping away from minimalism…
The last time I saw Ty Segall I was lifting him into a crowd of people so he could surf along to the sounds of the Jesus and Mary Chain, he had a grin on his face and a air of “fuck it, let’s have fun” around him. When combined…
It is going to be pretty hard for Ty Segall to top the year he had in 2012. The California native released three full length albums, a 7-inch and a tour split, appeared on a compilation, and toured as a member of bandmate/collaborator Mikal Cronin’s solo effort. Add in the…
Here was my reaction after 30 seconds of Googling Metalachi: “I have to see this live. It’s like my childhood and teenage years got together to blow my whole world asunder.” Metalachi takes the stage at Trees in full costume, their violin player is shirtless, each member of the band…
We now live in a world where major corporate radio routinely features songs by Phoenix, M83, The Black Keys, Passion Pit, The Lumineers, Mumford & Sons, Kings of Leon and Macklemore. These were largely independent artists who for the most part built critical acclaim over the years by producing quality…
Lights All Night Fair Park Monday, December 31 New Year’s Eve is always a tricky proposition, what with the whole cottage industry built around getting you out, getting you tipsy and then trying to get you home. This is probably why Lights All Night saved some of their biggest acts…
Lights All Night Fair Park Saturday, December 29 & Sunday, December 30 I remember when they were called raves — not that I was ever old enough to attend one, but I remember when these types of electronic music fests were known as such. There was even a whole film…
The moment I realized that food comes from animals was during one of my family’s tamale making sessions. I was about 4 or 5 and after waking from a nap I wandered down the hallway of the temporary trailer my grandparents were living in while they awaited the completion of…
The Babies, Lonesome Ghost, Doom Ghost Bryan Street Tavern Saturday, December 15 I have this theory that there’s something about your teens and twenties that allows you to be able to disconnect from the world around you, this bit of youthful ignorance that allows us to step away from the…
Formed in 2009, when Woods bassist Kevin Morby and Vivian Girls guitarist Cassie Ramone met at a party in Brooklyn, The Babies started making noise in 2010 with “Meet Me in the City,” a gloriously energetic trip that features some of the best dueling vocals this side of a Lee…
Ah, the holidays, that time when you frantically try to figure out what exactly to give whoever you got stuck with in the secret Santa drawing. Maybe you got lucky and selected a music fan; maybe you think you want to give that music fan something that’s not just the…
This weekend sees the end of Hollywood’s four-year license to print money, as the final Twilight film, Breaking Dawn Part 2, hits theaters. Keeping pace with their standard process, they made it a point to release a heavily market-researched soundtrack to coincide with each film. Below are some highlights and…
Leading up to our November 10 showcase, we’ll be getting you familiar with some of our Dallas Observer Music Awards nominees, either via past features we’ve done on them, or new ones. You can vote for your favorite acts, venues and more right here. Best Jazz Act Damon K. Clark…
Rodriguez House of Blues Monday, October 22 Last night, the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues was witness to a first, as Detroit singer-songwriter and current documentary subject Rodriguez took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd. After asking if anyone was from Detroit and offering his condolences,…
Tonight at House of Blues, the enigmatic Rodriguez takes the stage. The Detroit folk musician, also known as Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, released two albums to little acclaim in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and quickly faded into obscurity. Meanwhile, half a world away, those albums — Cold Fact and…
New Order, Ishi Palladium Ballroom Friday, October 12 The lead-up to Friday night’s sold-out New Order show was dense with social media’s critical musings, especially that this was not the real New Order, due to the absence of bassist Peter Hook. There were claims it would never be as good…
Tomorrow night sees the arrival of unstoppable force Gotye, as the Belgian-Australian singer and his cohorts take over a sold-out Verizon Theater to play a bunch of songs no one wants to hear till he closes the show with “Somebody That I Used to Know.” The song plays on the…
The Fort Worth Music Festival Will Rogers Memorial Center Friday, September 28 All the highways and random roads that lead from Dallas to Fort Worth throw me completely out of whack and often I end up lost and late. This happened Friday night as I braved Texas’ “HOLY SHIT IT’S…
Last week saw the limited release of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, and the director is currently receiving the type of media love reserved for those who rarely misstep and whose work is hailed as classic the moment it’s released. What’s always interested me about Anderson is his ability to…
