The age old dilemma of having one band on the bill you (kind of, sort of, used to) like and one you (pretty much) hate was thrust upon me Wednesday night at Gexa Energy Pavilion. Back in the early ’90s, I found the Goo Goo Dolls to have that same…
As far as concert promoters are concerned, Summer 2013 has come and gone. Fall show announcements are upon us, and before we can even get through ACL, we’re bombarded with a fresh crop of show announcements that will hit us in the pocketbooks right before the holiday season. Still, though,…
Friday night fans who made the social media cut gathered at Prophet Bar for Red Bull Sound Select’s first Dallas show. The company has paired emerging artists with headliners to present free shows for those who share their desire to attend on varying social media platforms. Expect more like this…
Dillinger Escape Plan House of Blues July 26, 2013 The Dillinger Escape Plan are the best live band around right now. I’m putting that right out there straight away, because I believe it to be true. There is nothing to match their intensity, their musicianship, the sheer magnetism they create…
Seeing both Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker on the same bill was a perplexing experience. On the one hand, it was two of my favorite bands, each one responsible for a (different) decade’s worth of quality alternative rock. On the other hand, since David Lowery fronts both bands, the show…
Raw and Underground event organizer AV The Great isn’t the least bit shy about proclaiming his freestyle battle and beat competition being the “best representation of the Dallas hip-hop scene.” In fact, in the spirit of rap battles and DJ swagger, he’s not the least bit shy about anything. “This…
Joel Salazar is well-known in Dallas hip-hop, from his early days MCing at the now-closed Royal Rack on Lower Greenville to his current role as co-producer of We From Dallas, the upcoming documentary about the history of Dallas hip-hop. And the founder of the newly formed Too Fresh Productions (he’s…
It’s always sad seeing a good bar or venue close its doors. This week we’re losing Zubar, a Greenville Avenue bar that has hosted a lot of great DJ residencies and some pretty phenomenal reggae, house and hip-hop sets in its nearly 17-year span. On the bright side, they’re throwing…
This week brought some pretty promising show announcements, so scroll down to see what’s coming through DFW soon. See also: – “Canned Festival, a New Music Fest from the Makers of Untapped, Coming to Downtown Denton”…
Last year, the teaser trailer for Filmage debuted to much acclaim. Looking back at the career of The Descendents (including the formation of All when frontman Milo Aukerman left the band), local filmmakers Matt Riggle, Deedle LaCour, Justin Wilson and James Rayburn have documented something that many punk rock fans…
Monday night, I went to a One Direction concert with my daughter. “What is One Direction?” you blessed, fortunate, blissfully unaware life-livers ask? One Direction is a highly publicized group of styled boys who gather on stage and say words into very powerful microphones to thousands upon thousands of young…
Last night, 20,000-plus fans and their parents filled the American Airlines Center to witness the world’s biggest boy band take their victory lap after almost three years of steady fan-base-building. It would be easy to talk about One Direction as a study on how watered-down pop music has become, and…
Rob Viktum is busy these days. Since we last featured one of his mixtape releases, the “Double Cupped Up” for the Dallas-based Prep Street, he has formed a label and released an excellent mixtape from Kool Quise, all while keeping folks crowded on the dance floors of Dallas from behind…
“The best part of the show was when Big Sean was on the stage,” one crowd member told me Saturday night. “The worst part of the show was when Big Sean wasn’t on the stage.” Well, yeah, I guess that sums up the Big Sean, Roscoe Dash and Yung Nation…
The Velvet Underground’s classic song “Rock & Roll” tells a story of a 5-year-old girl falling in love with the music coming from her radio: Young Susie, whose life was changed by rock ‘n’ roll. This week, the tale will resonate deeply with a group of Dallas-area girls. Girls Rock…
Not only do you have this list of awesome shows to see around DFW this week, but you should know that Fuzzy’s Taco Shop opens in Deep Ellum on Monday, so if you live in that neighborhood, “taco” will soon become a verb in your life. See also: – “Johnny…
Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs has one of most distinctive voices in rock. Equal parts David Bowie and Johnny Rotten, Butler’s jagged croon can convey the intensities involved with love and regret with the phrasing of a single syllable. Amazingly, after nearly four decades rasping out hits such as…
So, in the news this week Pope Francis said that he would allow sinners time off of purgatory if you follow him on Twitter. No joke. Just thought everyone should know. You can Google it after you read this less confusing post about show announcements in DFW…
Lynyrd Skynyrd | Bad Company | Slobberbone Verizon Theater July 10, 2013 A surprisingly loud and diverse crowd made their way to Grand Prairie last night to catch an oddly matched line-up of classic rock from the ’70s and ’80s. And Slobberbone was there as well. While in line for…
Fun fact!: If you watch Robert Downey Jr.’s performances in both Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man 3 in the same week, you may be prone to dreams of him taking over your job duties at the Dallas Observer, including this weekly blog post, and tweeting bad things about you to…
Just off one of the finest little town squares in North Texas, a recurring series of free gigs is starting to draw a real following. At 5:30 p.m. on every other Tuesday, an insanely early time for a gig in Denton, some unlikely heroes take to the stage in the…
In Dallas news this week, the Bank of America Plaza building (a.k.a. the green building) is no longer green! You may have noticed that about the skyline this week as they shut down the lights temporarily to re-install them with LED lighting. If you’re feeling a little lost without them,…
