Against Me!, Cheap Girls, FencesTreesJanuary 24, 2011Better than: seeing some lo-fi band that thinks it’s punk rock. The easiest way to describe the 80-minute onslaught Against Me! offered up to its enthusiastic Trees audience last night? To say that it was a cathartic experience. And, really, that’s as apt a…
Best Coast, Wavves, No Joy Granada Theater January 24, 2011 Better Than: Being separated from your best friend/cat. Over the past year, the relationship between Nathan Williams and Bethany Cosentino, lead singers of Wavves and Best Coast, respectively, has been the go-to story in the world of indie rock romance…
The Get Up Kids, Steel Train, River City Extension The Loft January 23, 2011 Better than: polishing your multi-colored Hot Water Music vinyl records. Aren’t you glad when a reunion tour isn’t a fluke? Fifteen months ago, The Get Up Kids triumphantly returned to the DFW area with a…
Ozzy Osbourne, SlashAmerican Airlines CenterJanuary 20, 2011Better than: a stirring competition of Rock Band. The greatest trick the Prince of Darkness ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And, make no mistake, that’s just what The Osbournes did. The four-season MTV reality series that focused on Ozzy Osbourne,…
Ghost of a Saber Tooth TigerDan’s Silverleaf, DentonJanuary 18, 2010Better Than: Dhani Harrison’s band with Ben Harper. Here’s the thing: It may be in bad taste, but when there’s the son of a Beatle in the room, it’s difficult to get past that. Especially when we’re not just talking any…
Leg Sweeper, B L A C K I E, XryCanton Co-OpJanuary 18, 2010Better than: seeing a show at a venue that actually makes me pay for beer. Tuesdays sometimes seem like the neglected middle child day of the week — the one that always minds his own business, really likes…
Jim Suptic co-founded The Get Up Kids back in 1995. Their first practice came on his 18th birthday. And, in the following years, his band became a touchstone in the emo community. But their beginnings were pretty humble: Eons before Weezer’s Pinkerton was worshipped and the members of Paramore got…
Datahowler, Gallery Cat, Damaged Good$, Hoyotoho Club Dada January 15, 2011 Better than: staying home to “avoid all the crazies on the road” while your friends have a ball celebrating the New Year (again). Honestly, if I wasn’t sick and running a fever right now, I’d try to come up…
Every few years it seems a new pandemic sweeps the nation. Usually occurring on or around television sweeps weeks, diseases like SARS and swine flu become hot-button topics that dominate news coverage as well as most other forms of popular media. Formerly innocuous water cooler conversations become monopolized by coworkers’…
Girl Talk Saturday, January 15, 2011 The Palladium BallroomBetter than: Listening to a bunch of actual girl talk. Whether you can dance or not, you know you want to. You just need a good excuse and, in some cases, a little lubrication. Saturday night Girl Talk provided the excuse. An…
Royal Bangs, Goldilocks and The Rock and Land Animals Hailey’s January 14, 2011 Better Than: The Falcons performance against the Packers on Saturday. A small but dedicated crowd fought the cold wind and drizzle Friday night to hear Knoxville’s Royal Bangs play at Hailey’s Club in Denton. While the weather…
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. T.J. Prendergast of Maleveller has played drums for a variety of acts over the years — Sons of Sound,…
A heavy metal feud is brewing between California and Dallas. Seems Southern California’s Def Leppard tribute band is pretty pissed off at Dallas’ Def Leppard tribute band, according to Spinner and NME. Perusing the Huntington Beach-based Leppard tribute band’s website confirms that, alas, it is true: Seems there is a…
No Age, Total Abuse and Rene HellJanuary 10, 2011Sons of Hermann HallBetter than: making the trek to The Smell for such an eclectic, entertaining bill. Whether the folks that showed up to last night’s show were new to No Age or “long-time” fans of the act’s 2007 Fat Cat debut,…
As you saw yesterday in Pete’s thoughts of Frank Campagna Jr.’s memorial at Club Dada, it was an incredibly moving night. For those that couldn’t make it, there are no better words on the Frankie’s memorial than what Pete wrote–so do read on. Pete mentions that family and friends had…
Frankie 45 Memorial ConcertClub DadaJanuary 6, 2011Better than: a traditional funeral — so much better. After losing an adored member of their inner circle earlier this week, the family and friends of Frankie Campagna only had simple requests heading into last night’s show. They wanted the mood to be celebratory,…
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. When he hasn’t been drumming for The Tah Dahs, The Happy Bullets, or his latest band, Disposable Music, James…
So, 2010 finished its stride over the weekend. But our nightlife photographers Ray Lek, Peter Lek and Roderick Pullum still ventured into that ball-dropping madness and captured the scenes at Zouk, the Lizard Lounge, Elm Street Bar, Skye Bar and OE Penguin. Hey, there’s no way we were going to…
CakePalladium BallroomDecember 30, 2010 Better than (eventually): The insane traffic that was backed up from the venue, all the way down Lamar, down the ramp and onto freaking I-30. Cake has it figured out. For the uninitiated: The California-based nerdy rock outfit managed to not only blow up into big…
Hayes Carll, Bobby Bare Jr. and Travis LinvilleGranada TheaterDecember 30, 2010 Better than: attending an SMU fraternity keg party About three songs into his set, country singer-songwriter Hayes Carll addressed his crowded Granada Theater audience and brought up the ticket cost of this particular performance. “Twenty bucks?” a bemused Carll…
The Adolescents, Lower Class Brats and The ScandalsThe LoftDecember 29, 2010Better than: Staying home and watching Sid and Nancy. A surprisingly large collection of Dallas’ unwashed and unwanted gathered together at The Loft last night to witness a fine triple-bill of old-school punk rock.Headlining was The Adolescents, a semi-legendary hardcore…
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. As impressive as their 2008 self-titled debut was, expect plenty of good things to come from True Widow in…
