60 or so bands played the Melodica Festival this weekend, and it would have been literally impossible to catch each and every performance during the three-night fest. Still, we ran ourselves ragged trying. The result: About 12 acts caught in full, another handful of performances seen mostly in full, and…
Maceo Parker with Grand Pianoramax February 27, 2008 House of Blues Better than: Pretty much anything, save a second performance. Self-described on his live album Life on Planet Groove as “2 percent jazz, 98 percent funky stuff,” Maceo Parker brought a funk explosion to the House of Blues Wednesday night…
Yells at Eels.Melodica Music Festival February 23, 2008 Exposition Park Last night I trekked down to Exposition Park to take my Melodica experience beyond the paper and was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t too sure how the fest would turn out, but with some fairly packed venues and too few parking…
Jill Scott February 19, 2008 Nokia Live Theater Better than: Crown Royal on ice. Some performers rely upon (or even just incorporate) backup dancers, pyrotechnics, a deejay or a visual montage on the big-screen displays. The funny thing about Jill Scott is that she doesn’t use or need them—nor is…
Little Rock’s Bear Colony played The Prophet Bar last night Interesting night out last night around the D. Sure, it was Valentine’s Day, so the crowds weren’t exactly huge, but there were certainly plenty of movers and shakers about town. Met this guy, this gal, this guy, this guy and…
Jim Ward and his wife at Ward’s Valentine’s Day show up at RGRS. (Melanie Gomez)Things were super lovey-dovey at last night’s Jim Ward show. First, there were a slew of couples — just look at the photos we took and you’ll see several with people canoodling. Then, you’ve got Jim…
Wakarusa Winter Classic featuring Spoonfed Tribe, Snarky Puppy, Catfish Whiskey and others February 8, 2008 Club Dada Better Than: A 15-hour Young Life ski trip sing-along in the back of a mildewed church van. Download: See 20 photos from last night’s show in our slideshow. Yeah, we get the jam…
Flogging Molly (Side One Dummy)Flogging Molly February 3, 2008 House of Blues Better Than: Thanking the sports gods for the defeat of the evil empire known as the New England Patriots. “In Ireland, we don’t have a super bowl,” said Dave King, leader of Celtic punkers Flogging Molly. “We have…
Angels and AirwavesAngels and Airwaves, Meg & Dia, The Color Fred, Ace Enders February 1, 2008 Palladium Ballroom Better Than: The 2008 Democratic Nomination Debate, and with way more dancing. Between Tom Delong’s experiment in musical happiness, Angels and Airwaves, and the cuties in Meg & Dia, the Dallas rock…
Funk songstress Sharon Jones.Sharon Jones January 27, 2008 Granada Theater Better Than: The Super-fly doppelganger of Adam West performing the Bat-tussi on Soul Train. In support of their third independently released album, 100 Days, 100 Nights, funk revivalists Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, played a vibrant and smooth variety-style…
Keller Williams and WMD’S January 25, 2008 House of Blues Better Than: Spending your evening trimming Grandma’s corns for gas money. Before I dig into the show, let me first drop my disclaimer: Going into the House of Blues I was about as familiar with Keller Williams and WMD’S as…
The enigmatic Dave Grohl. (Matt Mueller)Foo Fighters January 23, 2008 American Airlines Center Better Than: According to Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl, it was better than their last Dallas gig. “I think this may be the biggest show we’ve had here,” he said. “I think the last one was with…
A friend of DC-9 made it out to the whole Paris Hilton shindig at Ghostbar last night* and offered up some pictures from her phone to share. Paris was partying it up at the deejay booth with her entourage. Imagine that. Turns out Terrell Owens made it to the party…
Tiger Army Granada Theater January 22, 2008 Better Than: listening to the Stray Cats while waiting for your videotape of Happy Days to rewind. With his dark hair modeled into place and his sleeveless T-shirt showing off his tattooed guns, Tiger Army’s charismatic front man Nick 13 hit the stage…
Bill Frisell Trio played to a sold-out crowd Tuesday night in Denton. (Melanie Gomez) We know it was hard to get tickets for last night’s Bill Frisell Trio show in Denton. The line of people hoping to get into Dan’s Silverleaf without advance tickets winded down the block. So, for…
The Hard Sell? Only a little. (Jessica Walker)DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist Jan. 19, 2008 House of Blues Better Than: When I drink too much Shiraz and play classic ’80s records for my friends for hours and hours and hours… Wand-ed down once again for another live music extravaganza at…
Dove Hunter January 5, 2008 Club Dada Better Than: Watching X-Files reruns with your cat. (Trust me, I engaged in both last night.) Although they’ve got no tangible proof of their “special talents” other than a few band T-shirts for sale in a Rubbermaid tub and a four-song unmastered demo…
Lovie January 4, 2008 Club Dada Better than: being inundated with Britney’s latest publicity stunt. Lovie is proving that, as a live act, the members are rocking it. A semi-packed house at Club Dada with people specifically there for Lovie also bodes well for the group, as Lovie builds a…
Ghostland Observatory Dec 30, 2007 House of Blues Better Than: Watching oily robots make sweet love under a banana tree. SMU douchebags took over the House of Blues Sunday night, but we still were swooning when Ghostland Observatory hit the stage. (Angela Berg) Hippies love Ghostland! Hipsters love Ghosltand! Geeks…
Van Morrison Myerson Symphony Center December 29, 2007 Better than: Pretending you have Celtic roots getting drunk at O’Malley’s. Saturday night, in the stuffy and polite confines of the Myerson Symphony Center, Van Morrison finally let loose. After a disinterested performance of “Moondance,” the legendary singer consumed just enough wine…
From the 7th Annual Polyphonic Spree Holiday Extravaganza, last Sunday night at the Lakewood Theater. A dozen other options, from the John Lennon original to U2’s take, available here. –Robert Wilonsky…
Willy Braun’s other gig: Reckless Kelly. (Katie Garcia Photography)9th Annual Songwriter’s Showcase December 19, 2007 House of Blues Better than: Being at a BAR Association mixer. Last night, country hunk Roger Creager hosted the 9th Annual Songwriter’s Showcase at the House of Blues. Despite the Mavs/Suns game going on concurrently,…
