We all have our Record Store Day stories. Maybe we pulled an all-nighter to stake out a spot in line before the stores had even opened. Maybe we planned our day to avoid the rush and make a quick record-grab-and-go. Or maybe we just went to stand around in the…
The Old 97’s, Black Joe Lewis, Slobberbone, Madison King Annette Strauss Square – AT&T Performing Arts Center Dallas, Texas Saturday, April 19, 2014 On the most pristinely calm night we’ve seen in Dallas in recent weeks, Saturday’s sold-out Old 97’s record release show for Most Messed Up proffered a taste…
Neil Young Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center Dallas, Texas Thursday, April 17, 2014 Don’t tell Neil Young what to do. He may have grown into some grandfatherly approximation of old age, full of rambling stories and an easy, self-deprecating sense of humor. But deep down, he’s the same prickly soul…
Even though he fronts the sonically aggressive electro-metal band Powerman 5000, Spider One (AKA Michael David Cummings) is a thoughtful and downright restrained individual. I guess you have to have a cool head to keep some form of a band going for 23 years. Over that time, Powerman 5000 has…
For nearly 20 years “Thrashin'” Alan Tuggle has been promoting metal on his radio show Hard Time Radio on KNON. It’s a position that has also afforded him opportunities to interview idols of the metal scene from Ronnie James Dio to “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. He’s become a fixture in the…
Between 4/20, Easter, and Record Store Day, we’re celebrating three of the holiest high holidays in one weekend this year. Record Store Day falls on Saturday, and with it comes a huge number of highly anticipated special releases and reissues, and a score of record stores hosting big day parties…
Neil Young is simply beyond common musical criticism. Certainly among all of the classic folk, folk-rock and rock the man has recorded over the past 50 years, there have been some clunker albums. However, the sheer breadth of Young’s influence on an amazing array of artists in several differing genres…
Pulsing EDM and rattling hip-hop will officially be wed in trapped-out matrimony this Saturday, April 19, as Dallas welcomes the first ever Rageville Music Festival. The ADHD brainchild of Intelligent Grind Promotions, the one-night hodgepodge packs a broad lineup of masked rappers, live DJs and trill robots. In other words,…
There is no sign or marker for the Farm. Like the music it gave birth to, the Farm’s past exists largely in oral history bordering on legend and mythos. Part party house, part Okie artist commune, the Farm was a gathering place for Red Dirt musicians in the 1980s and…
After all these years, there’s still something special about seeing the Old 97’s back where they started — right here in their native Dallas. Perhaps it’s Rhett Miller and the boys’ longevity; perhaps it’s whatever that certain something special is that leaves us longing for the “next” Old 97’s. Either…
Twenty years ago, our local music scene was a bustling cauldron of rock goodness. Whether it be to the surprise of many or to a few, a couple of bands that made Dallas, Denton and Fort Worth proud back then are not only still making us proud, but are selling…
Angus Young looks like a possessed schoolboy as fire explodes from his fingertips each time they dance across the fretboard of his signature Gibson SG. His older brother, Malcolm, has been providing fuel to his fire for more than four decades. And together they’ve created some of heavy metal’s most…
This March I found myself at Amoeba Music in LA, one of the most celebrated record stores in the world. The size, the selection and the pricing were all very impressive, but none of it compared to the sense of community living inside. It was contagious, enlivening. For a fan…
There’s a lot going on that you need to know about before we get hit with a weekend full of high holidays. Easter, 4/20 and Record Store Day are important and all, but that doesn’t mean you should just stay in all week and wait. There’s plenty of fun to…
The Rail Club has been a mecca for metal since opening its doors in 2010. But new owner Josh Campbell hopes to expand it to include other genres of music, making it a mecca for all musicians. “When it comes to music, I play metal and I love metal,” Campbell…
Hard to believe that England’s Pet Shop Boys have been doing the synthpop/alternative dance thing for over three decades. During that time, the duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe has managed to evolve with the musical tides while maintaining a sizable audience. Although known for original songs such as…
A riverside ranch, a three-day weekend amongst nature and a stream of psychedelic music may sound like a cult happening (and it kind of is) but more to the point it’s the scene of Austin’s Psych Fest, a musical celebration of all things mind-bending. In seven short years, Psych Fest…
Ever since sunshine acid saturated Woodstock back in 1969, music festivals and recreational pharmaceuticals have gone together like wine and cheese. Which is why we’d like to recommend a few pairings for those so chemically inclined, a fine list of musical acts coupled with good stuff sure to provide complementary…
Although they have been around since 2005, Florida’s punk/metal act Centuries have just recently released their full-length debut Taedium Vitae. Featuring a bruising style and vocalist Eric Verporter’s unyielding singing style; Centuries have an intense style seemingly all to themselves. Speaking from a tour stop in Florida and in anticipation…
You’ve got a rock band. They’re pretty good. They rock out. People seem to like them. What’s the next logical step in the progression of this band or musician’s sound? Get louder? Play faster? Dig the same groove onto the next album? Maybe even get quiet and introspective for a…
The Eli Young Band is, by now, a household name, at least in households across North Texas, where three of its four members still reside, and in other households whose speakers blare with country. With each single released by the four-piece, formed in Denton in 2000 and led by lead…
This year’s Girls Rock Dallas’ annual Spring Fling festival will be held on Sunday at Sue Ellen’s bar in Oak Lawn. Although recently listed as one of the “Douchiest Bars in Dallas” by some local blog, this venue offers the perfect environment to channel a metal feel with a less…
