Decades ago, I was dragged to a concert in Austin for a funky roots outfit called Stick People. For the most part, it was a mess, but despite a claustrophobic hole-in-the-wall as the setting and even with pedestrian backing, lead singer Malford Milligan was a revelation, a lanky Prince-like figure…
There used to be a jungle illuminati of sorts in the UK. No, really. In the late ’90s when D&B was crossing over and cheesing out some of the top UK jocks, including Fabio, Grooverider and Kenny Ken, these clowns thought themselves important enough to form the so-called Jungle Committee…
At precisely 2:38 p.m. on December 28, U.S. District Judge Harlin DeWayne Hale officially pronounced Trees dead. With a few dry, muttered words offered after a few moments of silent deliberation, Hale informed the attorney representing the owners of the venerable live-music venue in Deep Ellum that they were to…
There you have it, Dallas. The tombstone. It’s glaring at you from newsstands all over town–even in the very district it’s damning, Deep Ellum–and we at the Dallas Observer really wish we were happy about dribbling out this “I told you so.” For years, we said that crime was a…
The laws of probability and rock tradition dictate that 2006, like every year before it, will not end without a notable musical death or two. Eventually all our rock heroes end up in the Afterlife All-Star Band. Those who went to the afterparty in 2005–including Luther Vandross, Link Wray, Clarence…
Time may be money, but Money didn’t get enough time at the last Final Friday of ’05. The local hip-hop showcase’s schedule shortchanged one of its biggest stars, Money Waters, leaving him only enough time for three songs. Too bad, because his tight set with live band Rubba Rode was…
The Strokes were labeled the saviors of N.Y.C.’s rock and roll scene when they oozed out of hipster enclaves (not to mention prep school) in 2001. But in the ensuing years, all of the tricks that made the fab five so exciting–snappy hooks, half-drunken confessions of love/lust and off-balance, VU-meets-AOR…
Buried halfway through this North Carolina band’s fine debut is “To Be Denied,” a mid-tempo ballad, a figuratively dead man’s bitter summary of a failed relationship and a song Ryan Adams wishes he had written. “You said that you had changed all of the locks/But I’d already lost my keys,”…
In December’s Vibe Mary J. Blige said that even though she’s comfortable revealing her abs in photographs, “I ain’t giving you titty, nipple, pubic hair or damn near clitoris.” While that’s certainly the most colorful quote uttered by a public figure this year, Blige’s comment actually runs counter to the…
Phil Spector’s legendary “Wall of Sound” is the inspiration for this massive, engrossing collection of early ’60s girl groups. While Spector’s best-known sides are absent, it’s amazing to hear how creatively energizing his hits were during a brief period usually disparaged as a downtime in “rock’s maturity.” Among the standard…
Not since the escapist early ’70s has the narrative “concept album” been so hip. In American Idiot’s vaguely political wake, Ryan Adams has released the autobiographical 29, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are hard at work on a musical essay about singer Karen O’s cat (no joke) and even Velvet Revolver…
Well, Belmor Corp., Trees is all yours again. After going two months without paying rent for the building at 2709 Elm St., the Entertainment Collaborative lost its lease, which puts the keys to Trees back in landlord Belmor Corp.’s hands with no tenant for the time being. In fact, only…
The only time I wear a suit is to attend a wedding or funeral. I suppose, then, my arrival at the Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearing on Wednesday, December 28, didn’t bode well for the Entertainment Collaborative, the then-owners of Trees; the federal court has a dress code, and there I…
On Wednesday, December 21, a longtime Deep Ellum music venue was officially closed to the public. The biggest surprise, though, was that the club in question wasn’t Trees. Multiple signs posted on Club Dada’s windows at 2720 Elm St. on Wednesday read as follows: “This property has been seized for…
New Year’s Eve without the Old 97’s? Well, it’s a day early this time around, so let’s hope Rhett and Murry made the right plane reservations. Expect the same 97’s set as every year before–solid, fun and loud, even if predictable–but there’s a big difference this year, as Shibboleth is…
The area’s full list of New Year’s Eve concerts starts on page 3 of our New Year’s Eve Guide; my top pick is the Barley House’s Drams and Sorta bill, as Brent Best has eons of New Year’s concert experience from his years in Slobberbone. Thing is, I’ll arrive at…
You, in the back–yeah, you, with the Xbox controller in one hand and Billy Bong Thornton in the other. Talkin’ to you, so pipe the fuck down. C’mere, lemme tell you a story about something that happened before you were born, about 10 years ago. Listen up, ‘cuz my stories…
After months of attempting to reach an agreement, the Entertainment Collaborative, owner of Trees and Gypsy Tea Room, has finally and officially lost its lease to Trees’ building. On Wednesday, December 28, U.S. District Judge Harlin DeWayne Hale ruled that Trees’ landlord, Belmor Corp., can reclaim the building on Elm…
Editor’s note: Is Trees closing for good at the outset of 2006? As of press time, it has not been confirmed, though the answer could come even before this story reaches racks–check www.dallasobserver.com for updates through the week. Still, a barren December concert calendar, relocated January concerts, thousands of dollars…
I haven’t stepped foot in Trees in several years–last time, I suspect, was when X’s original line-up tore up the place, reducing it to splinters like it was 1979. I hadn’t been in the joint in a long time, and returning on those rare occasions was like visiting your old…
Will 2005 be remembered as the year music giant Sony BMG began to fall? New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer got ’em in a July exposé on illegal radio payola practices, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott handed them a lawsuit in November over the company’s computer-damaging copy protection on…
Sad to say but 2005’s biggest stories in local music were hardly local. Tyler’s Eisley finally took off on a mainstream jet with the release of the ultra-gorgeous Room Sounds, but the teens were overshadowed by a mainstream year of makeup-coated emo boys. Texarkana’s Pilotdrift, with the support of Tim…
