When King’s X swaggered out of Houston two decades back, the band challenged both ears and preconceptions with rippling, progressive rock riffs and hints of then-hip “funk-metal” to go along with almost-gospel vocal harmonies, soulful sentiments and pop sensibilities borrowed from the British Invasion. Even weirder, the band’s guitarist and…
Though they sound nothing alike, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea and the electronic duo Florene probably have the most in common on this bill, a completely and delightfully eclectic hodgepodge even by Denton booking standards. Live improvisation plays heavily into both bands’ performances, so on a given night you never…
On Saturday night, a sense of rapturous elation could be felt in the air in Denton. Why? Because the fall semester breathed its last lurid breaths, thereby freeing all those held captive by its ghastly talons. Even if you were one of the few who didn’t know that both of…
You’d think, nine years into the annual Polyphonic Spree Holiday Extravaganza’s existence (the event went on hiatus in 2006, making this the slightly dubiously named “eighth annual” version of the concert), that audiences might start taking the show somewhat for granted. And yet, they’re not. Not at all. Not by…
Sitting in a bar on Lower Greenville, Frankie Campagna, leader of local retro-punkers Spector 45, is charming, dogmatic, exceedingly forthright and never at a loss for words. “I hate people who talk about moving to Austin because Dallas sucks or that Deep Ellum is dead,” says Campagna, who many around…
Lil Wayne is scheduled to bring his I Am Music tour to Dallas this week, but be warned before you drop $40 to $80 on a ticket: While New Orleans native Dwayne Carter Jr. has in many ways had the best year of his career, he’s also repeatedly wasted fans’…
Some music fans will argue that the art form of the Christmas album achieved perfection with Vince Guaraldi’s score to A Charlie Brown Christmas; others will argue for the supremacy of A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector. Either way, each year, artists mine the rich cache of holiday…
Just spoke with Lisa Endicott, who runs press for The Granada Theater, and she verified that the Billy Joe Shaver/Jesse Dayton concert that was to take place this Friday is canceled. Endicott told me the reason for the cancellation off the record, which means that I am bound by the…
Stumbled across a couple sites this afternoon that name drop Fight Bite’s Emerald Eyes as one of the year’s tops–including this blog from Stark Magazine which drops the disc in at the No. 43 slot on its year-end Top 50. And, in other good news, Jeff Louis and Leanne Macomber’s…
Ah, the joys of year-end lists: Reading up on your own personal favorite records of the year, seeing where they rank on others’ lists, finding out what others’ thoughts on those discs are…Well, OK, sometimes it’s not that easy.Today, a blog called Secretly Belgian checks in to name Centro-matic/South San…
Chat Room Pub barkeep Ben Rogers (on the left in the inserted picture, with owner Brad Hensarling) just updated the schedule for the bar and occasional music venue. Booked so far for 2009 are headliners History at Our Disposal, Musee Mecanique, Mount Righteous, “Danny Doyle” (I’d guess that means Daniel…
10. “Backdoor Santa,” Clarence CarterBelieve it or not, Carter had a career before “Strokin'”…
Welcome to This or That, a weekly segment here on DC9 where we stream an unmarked song and ask, simply enough, “Is this [POP BAND X] or just another crappy local band?” Why? Because we don’t think you’ll be able to tell the difference between the real thing and the…
Considering that I’ve only seen eight of the 25 artists mentioned in MTV’s year-end best albums list (Kanye West, Lil Wayne, No Age, Death Cab, Vampire Weekend, Panic At The Disco, MGMT, Coldplay) actually have their viddeos played on MTV or sister network VH1, you’ve gotta imagine that, for 17…
We’ve been privy to the Lil’ Wayne concert for a while now, but only recently did I start hearing radio drops for it that announce who else would be sharing the stage with him: Keyshia Cole (OK), T-Pain (I can see that), and Gym Class Heroes (WTF)? Not taking anything…
Yes, the weather outside is indeed frightful but, if you’re done shopping, I can’t think of anything better than heading to Denton and catching Sleeping in the Aviary tonight. The Madison band’s core of Elliott Kozel (guitar/vocals), Michael Sienkowski (drums) and Phil Mahlstadt (bass), recently added a fourth member, Celeste…
Former Tripping Daisy member, Secret Machine and Dallasite Ben Curtis and his new bandmates in School of Seven Bells are at the receiving end of some fine love today from the folks at Stereogum, who are featuring SVIIB in the debut of a new video performance feature called Decomposed, in…
More proof that Brave Combo’s nothing to polk fun at (sorry): The band has been nominated for an “Annie” award, which claims to be the highest honor in animation, for the use of its “William Tell Overture” take as the theme for the PBS animated series As The Wrench Turns. In…
Two exciting bits of news over on Chris Cantaliini’s Gorilla Vs. Bear on this chilly, chilly afternoon:The site will be hosting an official release party for Animal Collective’s new disc, Merriweather Post Pavilion, on Monday, January 5, at The Cavern as part of the album’s nationwide release party celebrations. Denton’s…
More proof that Centro-matic/South San Gabriel’s Dual Hawks is, truly, among the year’s best releases (as has already been implied elsewhere): The influential I Am Fuel, You Are Friends blog has included the disc in its write-up on the site’s favorite albums of the year. Sayeth IAF,YAF: “This album was…
MTV News this morning has a delightful little feature looking back on the year that was 2008–in Jonas Brothers romances. Seems Westlake’s own abstinence-pledging JoBros have had themselves quite the year in love, having been seen about town with tween music starlets Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift, among…
Still looking for that perfect gift for the music lover in your family? Well, the holiday season is traditionally a time when compilations, box sets and reissues flood the marketplace–and this year is no exception. What is exceptional, however, is the surprising high quality of this year’s re-issue crop. Here…
