If you happened into Ro2 Gallery’s downtown space in late 2013, you might have caught One Day, an installation of totem-like structures fabricated from discarded Starbucks waste. If you missed Val Curry and Robert Reedy’s exploration of consumer culture, you have another chance to take it in during Objective Strategies,…

Austin is experiencing an identity shift. It’s still a music hub — you can’t shop for used tires without encountering an in-store Americana showcase — but the bigger story is what’s happening in the city’s comedy scene. Sketch troupes, improv street gangs and renegade stand-up acts are taking over, making…

Thanks to a charmed roll of the 20-sided die, Dallas conjured up a one-night-only screening of Knights of Badassdom, a cinematic LARPing tale. The story is a touching one and the soundtrack is metal enough to inspire you to knock over a pinball arcade, buy a novelty sword or ask…

This Thursday is why you grew up, because this Thursday is Free Pie Day. Uh-huh. Had 10-year-old you known such a thing existed, she would have stolen the keys, sat on several phone books and peeled out to the nearest diner. Grown-up you doesn’t need to ask permission or hassle…

The Dallas Opera has announced the six-work line-up for its 14th season. In it you’ll see a blend of popular moneymakers, like Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, starring Italian bass-baritone Mirco Palazzi and Austrian soprano Beate Ritter, and the thrill of new with the world premiere of Everest. We’ve been…

Rossini’s classically lighthearted tale of romance and false identity is an operatic standard. Barber of Seville’s music is so prevalent that without even seeing it performed live or in its staged form, you’ve encountered the libretto through untold doses of pop culture parody. Barney Rubble belted it in the bath…

On Saturday night about 1620 of us got together at Artopia. We drank things. We shook things. We absorbed Dallas’ creativity. Picking a favorite part of the night is impossible: Downstairs Magician Confetti Eddie and sidekick the Lovely Karleena were show-stoppers, and the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group captivated us with…

I think by now we’ve reached an understanding. A cultural trust fall, of sorts. This Saturday is Artopia, the Observer’s annual art-dance-music-fashion party, and you should go. I say that with bias aside, because the lineup is crazy good. VIP is sold out. A few general admission tickets are still…

“Having a gallery in Dallas is great,” says Red Arrow Contemporary co-director Elissa Stafford. “But having something that’s more than that, an experience and way to give back to people, especially to other artists — that would be really powerful for us.” She, her sister Erin and I are sitting…

Wise men say only fools rush in, but margarita-craving Elvis fans might disagree. They understand that getting a table on Elvis Wednesdays at El Ranchito (610 W. Jefferson Blvd.) sometimes requires sprinting past the hostess. (Sorry, hostess.) What started 10 years ago as a one-night-only Elvis impersonator contest has become…

Each year we at the Dallas Observer like to get a little rowdy. We reach deep into Dallas culture and pull out the trend makers, the game changers and the party starters. We find the most interesting names in fashion, dance, art and music. Then we take over a venue,…

Entropy. William S. Burroughs. Earth as art. These source materials did more than influence artist Robert Smithson: They opened an unexplored sphere of philosophical understanding regarding the world’s perpetual flux and our role within it. Life’s output — rocks, text, trash — affected the minimalist artist, leading him to reinterpret…

When Jeffrey Grove transitioned into his new DMA gig, Senior Curator of Special Projects and Research, the role of Senior Curator of Contemporary Art was left open. That was back in May, and yesterday the institution announced this is no longer the case. They’ve wrangled in Irish-born, England-stationed, Gavin Delahunty…

Since the annual No Pants Subway Takeover arrived in Dallas, taking public transportation has become much more interesting. Sunday brought an afternoon of skivvy-clad commuters, hopping aboard DART to surprise and alter the days of unsuspecting fellow riders. We sent photographer Ed Steele to follow these brave, stripped-down souls through…

This amazing rap montage is just a swig from the found bottle. Suck the rest down on Saturday when Found Magazine the Found Footage Festival and A/V Geeks unite to battle for scavenger bragging rights at Texas Theatre. This weekend the city activates, flowing with new energy. Gallery and art…

Some Broadway hits just don’t deliver, or they become musty claptraps over time. (I’m looking at you, Kiss of the Spider Woman.) Then there are those culty works, those weirdly masterful creations that keep us returning for more, like Avenue Q. You can try to go against the grain on…

There’s a classic moment from the silent film era that’s ingrained in our collective memory. Sure, you may not know that it’s Buster Keaton in the scene, or that it’s from the full-length comedy Steamboat Bill Jr., but you’d recognize it nonetheless. A man is standing in front of an…

As we age, films take on different functions. Take Brazil, for instance. Sure, it’s become a cult classic, as most dystopian, bureaucratically steeped, darkly satirical cinematic spools do. But it’s more than that, really, because Brazil ties with Videodrome for most frequently shown hipster bar video of all time. (Is…

Typically, we at the Observer don’t associate with scavengers, Dumpster divers or unruly birds of prey — they tend to carry easily transmittable parasites, wear colorful open sores or just have frustratingly misspelled neck tattoos, none of which are terribly appetizing. However, in the world of Finders, we draw a…

It’s a big night in the gallery and nonprofit art sector, with dozens of spaces ushering in a new start of 2014 exhibitions. See our full run-down in the paper’s Culture section. If you can only get to four shows, here are my picks, but you’ll be running from Uptown…