Band of Horses, MidlakeVerizon Theatre in Grand PrairieApril 7, 2011Better than: seeing a band of actual horses, which the group of people behind me seemed to think was the funniest joke possibly ever. With certain performers, it’s all about the voice. And so it was last night at the Verizon…
The BooksThe Modern Art Museum of Ft. WorthApril 6, 20011Better than: taking a musicology class at the University of North Texas Augmented by a third, and sometimes a fourth member, the duo known as The Books thrilled a packed and energetic audience for 90 minutes last night at the Modern…
Welcome to My First Show, where we give bands a chance to talk about the first shows they ever attended — no matter how uncool and embarrassing those tales may be. Whether you’ve seen him behind a drum kit or a camera (which he sometimes uses as a contributor in…
Chris CornellHouse of BluesApril 3, 2011Better than: open mic night at any given local bar, although not by much. Let’s get something out of the way right up front: I’m a pretty huge Chris Cornell fan. I’ve seen him live a few times before, and he’s always exceeded my expectations…
Big K.R.I.T., Freddie Gibbs and A.Dd+Trees April 2, 2011Better Than: Staying at home on a Saturday night? The headlining performers on Saturday night’s bill at Trees were supposed to be big draws. And rightfully so: Big KR.I.T. and Freddie Gibbs are two of the bigger names to emerge in the…
Strand of Oaks, Joe Pug The Loft April 2, 2011 Better than: any “new Dylan” comparison you could dream up. A year ago, in the low-lit underfloor that is J&J’s Pizza in Denton, Joe Pug played a set for a tiny, but dedicated crowd at NX35 Conferette. The Flaming Lips…
Akron/Family, Delicate Steve The Loft March 31, 2011 Better than: staying home and watching the Mavericks lose to the Lakers. True believers in Akron/Family’s brand of psychedelic folk showed up in relative force to worship at the altar of all things bizarre and wonderful last night at The Loft, and…
Welcome to My First Show, where we give bands a chance to talk about the first shows they ever attended — no matter how uncool and embarrassing those tales may be. Sean Kirkpatrick has been a busy fellow lately: His band, Nervous Curtains, opened for Destroyer last weekend. Plus, the…
After more than 14,000 runners racked up 13.1 miles on Sunday morning as part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dallas Half Marathon at Fair Park, they were met with a Bret Michaels performance. Michaels followed Candy Coburn (that’s who he’s hugging after the jump) in serenading the runners’ tired limbs…
Destroyer, The War on DrugsThe LoftMarch 26, 2011Better than: listening to karaoke Wham!, I guess. The bottom line: I wish I had thought to bring a Kindle to read at The Loft on Saturday night — not unlike the guy helping me hold up the column in the middle of…
A few weeks ago, we announced a collaboration between the Flaming Lips and Denton’s own Neon Indian, that would result in a limited supply of 12-inch records — 2,000 to be exact. This week, that record saw its release, and Lips frontman Wayne Coyne decided to hand-deliver the record to…
I made it to the concert memorializing the life of Adam Carter at The Bone last night, but other obligations kept me from making the earlier event held at La Grange, where friends and family gathered to share stories, listen to recorded songs, and watch video montages of the 27-year-old…
Adam Carter Memorial ConcertThe BoneMarch 23, 2011 It was a somber scene at The Bone last night, a scene tragically all-too-familiar in the local music scene of late. Since August, five members of the local music scene have died — Ace McNeely, The Will Callers’ Bradley Kyle Schroeder and Chase…
Welcome to My First Show, where we give bands a chance to talk about the first shows they ever attended — no matter how uncool and embarrassing those tales may be. Chris Bonner and his wife Kim Pendleton-Bonner have led The BAcksliders through four albums of sweaty rock ‘n’ roll,…
And then there was BRO FEST.For those who had SXSW hangovers that were too sharp, or got stuck in the biblical nightmare that was traffic on I-35 (where are you Third Man Records truck?), Parade of Flesh’s 2011 BRO FEST boasted, as Daniel Hopkins mentioned in this week’s print, its…
Toro y Moi, Cloud Nothings, IshiClub DadaMarch 19, 2011Better than: rushing halfway across downtown Austin to cram into an at-capacity venue, club or the ever-popular Fader Fort for a rushed 25-minute South-by-Southwest-style set. With more than 300 presale tickets sold before Saturday’s show, Dada’s “Backyard” — lit by the “supermoon”…
Peter MurphyGranada TheaterFriday, March 18, 2011Better than: Staying in and watching The Hunger. Blue lights blinded the packed crowd at Granada Theater on Friday night as the King of Goth took his stance at front and center stage. The one-time Bauhaus frontman may be 53 years old these days, but…
Well, we made it through another SXSW alive — and not without seeing some of the best performances we’d seen all weekend on Saturday night.So, on that note, after the jump, we once more hit the ol’ 140-character show review model we’ve been trusting all week to evaluate what we…
The final day–and night as Rocks Off discovered–of SXSW was a long one. After perusing an absolutely epic line for Rachel Ray’s Feedback Party at Stubb’s (yeah, you read that right), we ventured over to Peckerheads to meet Dallas-friends Gorilla Groove. While the lineup there doesn’t really rank high on…
It was perfect weather for taking it to the streets yesterday in Austin, which is why our feet were a couple of blood-filled balloons by late last night. Good thing there’s plenty of street pizza and bizarre performances on 6th street to stop and (rest) watch. Yesterday was no different;…
Last week, we had our Art Director Alexander Flores and illustrator Noah Patrick Pfarr create a bingo card based on what we’d likely see at SXSW.Turns out our predictions are fairly accurate so far. While we haven’t seen Bill Murray or a Monster Energy car annihilate a Red Bull car,…
People drunk. After day one-ish of SXSW Music, it’s a new term. People drunk is the dulled sensation, the open-mouth brain shock of trying to figure out which great band to catch in a completely huge crowd. Looking at yesterday’s schedule (and today’s…and tomorrow’s), it’s an overwhelming choice. So, yeah,…
