For the third year in a row, Isis Brantely, natural hair stylist, founder of the Institute of Ancestral Braiding and once arrested for illegally styling hair, is organizing the Naturally Isis Hair Parade and Festival. And for the second year in a row, Erykah “Badoula Oblongata” Badu will return to…
Chess tournaments have lost intensity on the national level since, say, the Cold War ended. True, chess is the game of kings, an ultimate test of strategy and has been used by brooding, Scandinavian directors to represent man’s attempts to cheat death. But without the reputation of capitalism at stake,…
There are only a few career options with a name like Buster Cooper. You could be the star of screwball comedies. Maybe a very low-end private eye. Or you could be one of the world’s most beloved jazz and tap dancers. Dallas’ own Buster Cooper, a nationally known teacher and…
The Altercation Punk Comedy Tour is coming to the constant-joke-set-up venue Someplace Else, 1900 West Arbrook Blvd. in Arlington, at 10 p.m. If you’re curious what distinguishes punk comedy from regular comedy, the first thing you should know is it’s strictly 21 and up. Founder JT Habersaat put out a…
Our favorite artist with an inscrutable last name is one of the hardest-working guys in the Texas art world. Stephen Lapthisophon is a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas at Dallas, had multiple shows this summer, including one in Los Angeles, and he showed…
The room we’re in looks like a bigger version of a high school art studio. There are sculptures clothed in plastic wrap, rows of Grecian urns, a worktable where staff was assembling mounts for a buffalo mask, a 3D printed lamp and ancient Roman jewelry. A lot of Jesus paintings…
Dallas’s own locally-run ticketing company, Prekindle, is movin’ on up to the Deep Ellum side. The four-year-old company has officially opened their new headquarters at 2528 Elm St., in arts-and-venue-packed Deep Ellum. Since Prekindle’s founding by co-owners and former band mates Dave Howard and Pete Swulius, the company has started…
Have you ever wanted to celebrate a 5,000-plus year birthday? It’s time to celebrate the birth of Krishna, everyone’s favorite eighth incarnation of the Vedic supreme being Vishnu. Krishna Janmashtami is a celebration that spans most Hindu traditions, including the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, otherwise known as the Hare…
Sometimes in the middle of the workweek we all need a moment to calm down, a little stillness to help us regain perspective and what little sanity we can. If you need to find space for contemplation, might we suggest heading to Texas Woman’s University’s new exhibition, Contemplation: Emerging Female…
How many years does it take for something to become a tradition? We think three is more than enough. The Dallas Observer is hosting our third annual Brew Fest in the Dallas Arts District, and let’s face it, there’s no better reason to leave your house than beer. More than…
There are few things more intimidating than a roller derby league, but one of those more intimidating things is a roller derby league that’s themed off of the JFK shooting. With teams boasting names like Lone Star Assassins, Special Ops and Dirty Little Secret Service, you know Assassination City Roller…
This weekend the Europa Expo came to the Dallas Convention Center, and we went in and weeded through all the whey isolates and CrossFit challenges to find the weirdest things to report back to you. Here are the top five things that made us go, “What?” Megatron World Wrestling Championship…
Now that Alamo Drafthouse has opened its Richardson location, here at Mixmaster we were curious: After all the hype and popularity Alamo enjoys, how does it measure up? So they chose me, a humble Louisianan who has no bias toward (and until recently not even knowledge of) Alamo, to investigate…
With the August heat getting up to “What fresh hell is this?” levels, dog owners need to be particularly diligent when they’ve got their pets outdoors. It’s important to keep your dogs cool and hydrated when you’re out and it’s best to do the same for yourself while you’re at…
Sometimes we need a little motivation to stop binge-watching Star Trek on Netflix and engage in some relatively healthy behavior. Or at least give our futons the chance to breathe and fluff out the ass grooves left behind from said binge-watching. But if you still can’t muster the energy to…
After wrapping production of the wonderfully titled Gruesome Playground Injuries, Second Thought Theater shows its latest project, In a Forest, Dark and Deep by Neil LaBute and directed by Regan Adair at Kalita Humphreys Theater (2400 Flora St.) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. In a Forest, Dark and Deep is about…
No matter how literary you are, we could all stand to be more well-read. Helping out with that is The Dallas Morning News, which hosts its seventh annual Points Book Club. For the first time, it features a Dallas-based author. Up for discussion is Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, the…
“It was never my intention to die at this place. If so tell me to wake up and walk out of here.” That’s how Ann Williams, the founder and artistic director of the Dallas Black Dance Theater, succinctly sums up her thoughts on her pending retirement. It must be apt…
NOTE: To any PR or media relations people out there: all future press events should include bottomless Champagne. Thank you. Alamo Drafthouse’s new Richardson location had its official ribbon-cutting/giant robot-unveiling last night. Founder Tim League and Chief Operating Officer Bill DiGaetano were joined by various local figures including Richardson Mayor…
Endearing is a weird word to use for horror movies, but it’s an accurate one for independent and low budget horror movies that aren’t lazy creature features or slasher flicks. Enter Jug Face, which opens at Magnolia Theater this Friday. Ada lives in a backwoods community in an unnamed part…
We officially have less than half a year until Christmas, but the holidays still feel far away. Add on the August heat and we’re all in need of the next best thing to a winter wonderland: the Summer Santa Rampage. Starting at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Mockingbird DART station,…
It’s summer time and the livin’ is sleazy. Embracing the smut is the best way to escape the heat, and there’s no better way to celebrate smuttiness than with pornography, foot-fetishism and the one and only Divine. At 9:30 p.m. Friday, Texas Theatre (213 W. Jefferson Blvd.) is screening John…
