Black Star, Playdough, Topic House of Blues September 7, 2011 Better than: being blown away by a firearm. Although each has enjoyed a remarkable solo career as one of the most important names in hip-hop today, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are perhaps most loved when together as that unstoppable…
Japandroids, Bass Drum of DeathBryan Street TavernSeptember 7, 2011Better than: staying in and playing the Republican Debate Drinking Game. Hyped as ‘a big bill in a tiny venue’ by promoter Parade of Flesh, last night’s Bass Drum of Death and Japandroids bill turned out to be more of a medium-sized…
The rent for Lakewood bars is too damn high. At least that’s what we’re learning this week as another area staple shutters its doors. Around 6 p.m. last night, Lakewood Bar & Grill updated its Facebook page with news of its abrupt closure. According to the update, the closure was unplanned…
im Kasher, Aficionado, Sea Lion The Loft September 7th, 2011 Better than: filming your own version of Say Anything’s proposed sequel. Given the turnout for last night’s show, with the floor in front of the stage not even half-full, Tim Kasher could have played for less than an hour and…
When Brooklyn’s so-called folk-metal outfit O’Death performed at this past March’s 35 Conferette, we were mightily impressed. In fact, we claimed that they might be the most definition-appropriate version of a “roots-rock” band. Such a theory was based upon the band’s effortless ability to make the new sound old and…
Justin Vernon is reclining in a pink chaise longue, a splendidly garish piece of furniture that once sat in a hallway at his parents’ house in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and now resides at his brother Nate’s loft in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis. He has only a few hours of…
After debuting on the charts in 1955, Pat Boone went on to record 38 Top 40 hits and be named Billboard’s No. 10 all-time rock recording artist, before changing gears to host TBN’s Gospel America and the eponymous one-hour gospel radio show he still hosts now. Back in the late…
Prior to serving 11 months on Riker’s Island, the world knew (and loved) Lil Wayne for being a delightfully schizoid celeb, hypercompetitive workaholic and the Best Rapper Alive. He dictated the game, ate candy by the pound, sold a gazillion albums, guzzled promethazine-and-codeine cocktails like Diet Sprite and effortlessly tossed…
They’re pegged as glam-rock at times — perhaps because of the prominent use of organ or the way the melody of “All Die Young” seems to echo “All the Young Dudes” — but, sonically, the Smith Westerns are more consistently reminiscent of ELO, which is especially interesting since the Chicago…
It’s an unusually mild August night and Maleveller will take the stage at The Double Wide shortly after midnight. The show is celebrating the release of the band’s debut self-titled full-length. In attendance are a number of friends, fans and bar regulars. But what’s noticeable right away is that this…
Go here to vote online. Grab a paper ballot in the print edition out today if you prefer. You can vote over text-messaging, too. Those details are in the paper as well. Point is: Vote early, vote often. We’ll be accepting votes right up until and during our October 15…
A little over a week ago, Robert posted something of a gem to Unfair Park: Seems an all-girl punk band from Grand Rapids, Michigan, 30 years after the fact have released a response song to the great “She’s In Love With The Rolling Stones,” a fine, fine single released by…
Technically — technically — last week was supposed to be it for Rio Room’s somewhat over-the-top, but nonetheless impressive summer-long offerings of DJ sets from bold-faced names. Diplo’s performance was to be the cap in the summer’s feather, and the weekly Sunday night residency from Grammy-winning Dallas production duo Play-N-Skillz…
Back in July, when we caught up with Centro-matic frontman Will Johnson to talk about his band’s latest release, the excellent Candidate Waltz, much of our conversation centered around the small dusty city of Bastrop, Texas, located about 30 miles south of Austin, where Johnson wrote essentially all of the…
Musicians are undoubtedly influenced by the music they listen to. An artist’s musical selections can sometimes even foretell what a next album might sound like. So if you’ve ever wondered what the artists who grace your stereo are getting funky to, here’s your chance to find out. Every week, I’ll…
Speaking of interesting show announcements, New Year’s Eve just got even more exciting: Almost two weeks after the folks behind Lights All Night announced the beyond-insane bill for their sure-to-be-extravagant two-night affair at the Dallas Convention Center on December 30 and December 31, the Denton-based talent buying upstart Denton County…
Seems that the big acts in this week’s show announcements were even bigger some 20 years ago. Much bigger. You might think we’re talking about Morrissey, or Wilco (who still seem to be on the fringe of their prime) or Third Eye Blind (did they ever even have a prime?), but, no,…
Some pertinent St. Vincent news to pass along to end the day today, exactly one week before Dallas product Annie Clark releases her third solo record, Strange Mercy, the most pressing of which is this: In case you haven’t yet noticed, the new, made-in-Oak-Cliff, John Congleton-produced album is streaming over…
Two weeks back, you may recall, we passed along a free download of local rapper Jay Fresh’s take on the unavoidable Jay-Z and Kanye West song “Otis,” for which Fresh had a little help courtesy of a production update from electronic artist and new Pretty Lights Music signee, SuperVision.A few…
Back in March, our own Kelly Dearmore was among the many who caught New York band O’Death’s stunning set at the 35 Conferette (now 35 Denton). He loved it, as you can see form what he wrote:As Josh T. Pearson and his beard watched on, New York’s O’ Death began…
Tim Kasher, on a break from recording with Cursive and The Good Life, is trekking through the states on his own at the moment. And he’s doing so in support of a couple of solo release, too — last year’s The Game of Monogamy, and a new EP featuring some…
After releasing a few lackluster singles that relied on sampling and riding the coattails of artists with bigger stars than her own, Nicki Minaj discovered her voice in her Pink Friday album late last year. When I reviewed one of her other tracks, I remarked that Nicki will probably represent all…
