35 Conferette’s Coming Into its Own.

On Sunday evening in downtown Denton, as the crowds gathered to catch Atlanta rapper and 35 Conferette headliner Big Boi perform in the Wells Fargo parking lot that had been temporarily converted into a concert space, a different personality entirely sauntered onto the stage. Rather than the final outdoor performer…

Forever The Sickest Kids

Lest the Forever The Sickest Kids’ pre-release interviews for this, their second full-length release, didn’t make it abundantly clear, then the final track on this self-titled affair (saying nothing of the ten songs leading up to it) certainly does, with its all-in shouted refrain: “We’re never gonna stop / Never…

Q&A: Big Boi Talks About His Decision To Go Solo, The Preparations For His Next Album and Why He Hardly Considers Himself A Hip-Hop Act.

There’s little doubting Atlanta duo Outkast’s place in hip-hop history. The twosome of Andre 3000 and Big Boi practically invented the southern hip-hop sub-genre, developing a crazy style to call their own — and something all their own, too. Even some 17 years after their 1994 full-length debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, few…

Watch: Descender — “Armor”

In this week’s upcoming dead-tree issue of DC9, Alan Ayo takes a close look at Descender’s sophomore release, Dark Water, which he sees (SPOILER ALERT!) as a fresh beginning for a band, which, despite featuring members of Deep Ellum mainstays Doosu and Burden Brothers, didn’t necessarily live up to its…

Bonus MP3: A.Dd+ — “Greedy”

At this point, much-buzzing (at least locally) hip-hop duo A.Dd+ has leaked about a third of their much-anticipated, still-two-weeks-off, debut full-length, When Pigs Fly: “Howdy Do,” “Likeamug,” and “Slow Tempo” were released as early teases by the band in the months and weeks leading up to this point, and, this…

Night Four at 35 Conferette ’11: The Strongest Bill Of The Festival Caused Some Anguish, But Sent The Denton Fest Out In Style In The End.

Without question, Sunday’s offering at the 2011 35 Conferette was the Denton festival’s strongest, featuring performances from the likes of Davila 666, Miami Horror, Colour Revolt, !!!, Portugal. The Man, Big Boi, A Place to Bury Strangers, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Gayngs, Kid Koala, Dan Deacon, The Civil Wars, Viva Voce,…

Last Night at 35 Conferette: Dr. Dog Brings Good Vibes, Helps The Festival Find Its Footing

</iframe<br><br>Dr. Dog8:20 p.m. at Main Stage #1It felt perfectly “Denton” — a consummate “indie” performer, giving its adoring “indie” crowd a jubilant display at the region’s preeminent “indie” festival. Yes, after a Thursday night that was plagued by late set starts, Friday night’s main stage headline performer, Dr. Dog, seemed…

Watch: American Werewolf Academy — “The Hop”

Turns out it pays to be nice: This week, Dallas power pop trio American Werewolf Academy has released a new seven-inch record (in blue vinyl, even!) through the UK-based label Damnably Records — the benefit, it seems, of a relationship the band established with the folks behind the label a…

The Must-See Acts at 35 Conferette

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…

Five Locals to Watch at SXSW 2011

Over the past few years, North Texas has been a model of consistency at the annual South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin. It’s the same, it seems, every year, as the region has seen somewhere between 30 and 40 bands score official showcases at the mid-March affair for much…

Toadies, Ume, Ishi, True Widow, Here Holy Spain

In 2001, after surviving for more than a decade as one of North Texas’ most commercially successful rock outfits of all time, the Toadies called it quits. The band’s time had simply come; bassist Lisa Umbarger wanted out, and the rest of the band’s members were ready to focus on…