HoleHouse of BluesJuly 7, 2010Better Than: The train wreck we anticipated. Way better, actually. The fans gathered at the House of Blues last night had every reason to expect an on-stage debacle from Courtney Love and the four-piece backing band of players she now calls Hole. They didn’t get one,…
Mates of State, Free EnergyGranada TheaterJuly 7, 2010Better than: Sitting home and watching cooking shows Mates of State were back at the Granada last night playing to a very appreciative crowd of fans that filled the theater’s floor level–but not the whole theater space. The balcony section was closed off…
Van’s Warped TourSuperpages.com CenterJuly 3rd, 2010Better than: last year’s Warped date. Thank you, Hurricane Alex. Were it not for your rain and wind, the thousands of folks at the Warped Tour would have felt like those dropped in the desert in the movie Punishment Park. Instead, the thousands who showed…
This weekend was particularly warped. Aside from the Hurricane, and the Fourth of July being on the Fifth, and the Vans Warped Tour 2010 bringing sometimes bloody-nosed Andrew W.K. (and more) to Dallas, there was Joan Jett and Black Tie Dynasty at Que Fest . Oh, and MC Hammer at…
Psychedelic Furs, She Wants RevengeGranada TheaterJuly 1, 2010Better than: staying home to watch a brat pack movie on Insta-Netlfix. The Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler had the time of his life last night. He was twirling, bunny-hopping, and unconsciously conducting his band with his grandiose, animated, almost theatrical gestures and finger-snaps…
Wednesday night (June 30) at Gilley’s, Tinker, Sherman and Blues Traveler played a pre-Independence Day set. John Popper’s harmonica was also there, and performed vigorously during the “Run Around” solo.See more of Blues Traveler’s night in Dallas in Evan Clinton’s slideshow…
The Hood Internet, Yeahdef, Red SeanThe LoftJune 25, 2010 Better Than: sitting on the wall like you were Poindexter. Going to see Chicago’s Hood Internet, I figured the crowd would be predominately college-age and looking for a party. But walking up the stairs to the second-floor performance spot at the…
This ain’t no video game. Wednesday, June 23rd at the Loft in Dallas, Rock Star Karaoke brought out the shy singers (no Rhett Miller this time) to the stage–backed by real lights and a real band. Judges this week were Reid Robinson from KNON’s Sonic Assembly, Charming Garden’s Amy Curnow…
It shocked Passion Pit (playing with openers Tokyo Police Club) to see a 3,500 capacity ballroom filled to the brim Monday night. But, as Pete pointed out in his review, the crowd’s energy was even more remarkable. See more of the night’s energetic performance, and bustling crowd, in Andrew Shepherd’s…
Passion PitPalladium BallroomJune 21, 2010Better than: seeing Elmo in concert. It was startling, actually–even to the band on stage. “This is one of the biggest audiences we’re playing to on this tour,” Passion Pit, see concert photos in our slideshow frontman Michael Angelakos announced to his adoring crowd somewhere in…
Concrete Blonde, Jim BiancoGranada TheaterJune 18, 2010Better than: listening to Bloodletting on CD, sad to say. The recent trend of bands performing shows and planning them around an entire album has become quite the rage these days. It’s gotten almost absurd: The fan-friendly phenomenon has grown to the point where…
Josh Ritter, The MynabirdsThe Granada TheaterJune 15, 2010Better than: watching both hours of Hell’s Kitchen on TV. Six years and three additional, well-received studio albums can do wonders for a performer’s attendance figures, it seems. Josh Ritter, who rolled through town last night with a stop at the Granada Theater…
Erykah Badu, B.o.B., Janelle MonaeVerizon Theatre in Grand PrairieJune 15, 2010Better than: standing 20 feet tall. For a good five minutes at the start of Erykah Badu’s two-hours-and-20-minute visual and aural onslaught at Grand Prairie’s Verizon Theatre last night, there was darkness. Her backing band–consisting of two drummers, a keyboardist,…
Friday night at the House of Blues, Ruby Revue presented their “Burlesque on the Go-Go” tour featuring Anita Cookie, Clams Casino, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Gigi La Femme, Minnie Tonka, and local performers Ginger Valentine and Black Mariah. As you can see, their June 11 performance “Dangerous Curves Ahead,” was aptly…
So it’s hot as hell outside. What do you do? Strip. Duh.M Street Club on Lower Greenville is featuring “Uncensored Saturdays” this month with King James on the Mic and video backup by DJ Ivy. Barcadia also held it’s two-year anniversary party Saturday, June 12, with DJ Redeye spinning a…
BuzzcocksThe LoftJune 11, 2010Better than: nostalgia. Buzzcocks (a more appropriately named band escapes me at the moment) roared into The Loft on Friday evening delivering on the promise of the Another Bites tour premise: The band roared through their first two albums–and a few other gems–in a virtually non-stop 90-minute…
Mumford & Sons, The Middle EastHouse of Blues’ Cambridge RoomJune 10, 2010Better than: being at the show that was taking place in the House of Blues’ main hall. The Wonder Girls? Really? Inside of the sold-out Cambridge Room at the House of Blues on Thursday night, there was little room…
LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!Palladium BallroomJune 9, 2010Better than: pretending to be too cool for this shit. For someone who’s made a career out of his cooler-than-thou persona, LCD Soundsystem frontman and mastermind James Murphy sure is a weird dude. But maybe that’s exactly what gives him such an aura of…
Iron Maiden, Dream TheaterSuperpages.com CenterJune 9, 2010(Just Slightly) Better than: Staying home and watching Spinal Tap for the 200th time. On a night when the weather took a breather from unbearable, the sky was overcast and the temperature hovered in the 70s as 12,000 or so metalheads descended upon Fair…
MGMT, Tame Impala House of BluesJune 8, 2010 Better than: Hearing these songs yet again in a movie trailer, commercial or clothing store. For anyone keeping track of MGMT these days, this most likely won’t come as a shock: The band’s sold-out show last night at the House of Blues…
Cory Graves wrote in his review that the Granada audience was promised “a real treat visually and aurally.” For those of us who weren’t there, we can assume from Andrew Shepherd’s slideshow that Miike Snow’s promise came true. Storms of smoke and shafts of blue light were among the dazzling…
Neil YoungMorton H. Meyerson Symphony CenterJune 7, 2010Better than: Almost anything. When I’m old and grey I’m pretty sure my shortlist of best life experiences will go something like this: my wedding day, the birth of my children and the night I saw Neil Young at the Meyerson. First of…
