We just witnessed the glory of Ms. Lauryn Hill a few weeks ago, and now another ’90s R&B counterpart resurfaces. For those of us who took Mary J. Blige’s 1994 album My Life as scripture, 2011’s My Life II … The Journey Continues (Act 1) kept Blige in the loop,…
See also: – The winners of the 2012 Dallas Observer Music Awards – More scenes from the awards ceremony…
So, the Dallas Observer Music Awards showcase is a total voice-stealer. Somewhere between the Atomic Tanlines’ primal howl of a show at Reno’s and downing an entire box of Triscuits in bed, I lost the ability to speak out loud. My point is, it was a helluva time. It was…
Tum Tum, Big Tuck, A.Dd+, Dustin Cavazos Dada Thursday, November 8 While Top Shelf Shows has plenty to be proud of lately, last night really proved the fairly new local booking upstart a force to be reckoned with. Though marketed as “The Day Dallas Stood Still,” Dallas rap fans did…
Dirty South Rydaz Tum Tum and Big Tuck come together for the first times in years Thursday, on Dada’s outside stage, so there will no doubt be an appropriate amount of smoke. Joining them are fellow locals Dustin Cavazos and A.Dd+, plus a DJ battle between Sober and Q…
Look, we’re all upset R. Kelly’s much-anticipated October “Love Letter Cruise” has been canceled. What better way to experience the white-hot firehose of sexuality that is R. Kelly than on a cruise to the Bahamas with thousands of other women? Now we’ll just have to settle for seeing him on…
Austin’s never been short on stellar roots bands or hardcore honky-tonkers, thanks in part to some young acts that perform way beyond their years. Mike and the Moonpies, Whiskey Shivers and Shakey Graves are but a few of the promising names to reveal themselves recently. Add Crooks to that list…
The new self-titled LP from Dallas’ Unconscious Collective, yet another group that counts members of Akkolyte and Black Dotz as members, gets released tonight. The seven-track album’s shortest song is six-and-a-half minutes, and its longest is nearly 15, but in those swaths of time, the metal improv trio pummels and…
Flip on over to this week’s feature for a rundown of all the acts playing our big-ass showcase Saturday. Eight clubs, more than 60 bands. A snapshot of Dallas music in one night. Allt for $10…
The list of bands that broke big in 2000 and are still on a major label producing high-quality tunes is as short as the life spans of most of the bands that had hits that same year (Stroke 9, anyone?). Sacramento’s Deftones are near the top of that select list…
Pennsylvania’s Title Fight come to Dada on Tuesday, November 13, with Pianos Become the Teeth, Power Trip and Single Mothers, in support of latest album Floral Green. Guitarist Shane Moran took time out to share the band’s musical influences, his first show, and remind us Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! existed. A…
One of the best shows this fall will be on a weeknight, when Converge and Torche, two of the finest, loudest metal bands out there, tackle Dada. Both bands put out fantastic records this year, Converge with All We Love We Leave Behind and Torche with Harmonicraft, and will most…
While Halloween is over, we can always count on the Day of the Dead to give us one more reason to put on the corpse paint and slink around in the shadows. Friday at Texas Theatre, enjoy a screening of the ghoulish 1962 horror classic Carnival of Souls, which features…
To see A$AP Rocky live has been a bit of a chase for North Texans, but the wait is finally over. The self-described “pretty motherfucker” is bringing that Harlem hustle, plus Detroit’s Danny Brown and Cali’s Schoolboy Q, to Dallas for quite a night at House of Blues. Rocky and…
In a few weeks, most music blogs — including ours — will begin the samurai-like process of forging year-end and best of 2012 lists. And no sword-maker should exclude Sharon Van Etten’s sharp third album, Tramp. Neither should they overlook the always-great Damien Jurado, whose latest LP, Maraqopa, has great…
Last weekend, Fort Worth’s 1919 Hemphill celebrated its 10th anniversary with three nights of punk and hardcore revelry. Not much different from what they do every weekend, though. Case in point: This heavy Sunday show, brought to you by Dallas Distortion Music, features performances from Denton’s metal machine Terminator 2…
Jacob Bannon, lead singer of the mighty Converge, returns to Dallas tomorrow night at Dada, as the four-piece promotes their latest, All We Love We Leave Behind. We caught up with him about the first record he bought, his first tattoo, how he got into mixed martial arts and his…
Last week, we put the spotlight on Playdough and J. Rhodes, two Dallas emcees with new albums out. Playdough’s Writer Dye: Deux or Die is a sample-heavy celebration of popular music and rap’s interpretative nature, whereas J. Rhodes’ Oak Cliff Huxtable reps the local scene a bit. Opener Ty City…
Yes, the Halloween weekend is upon us, and with it comes myriad choices of where to go and who to see (and be). Because we care about your well-being, we always like to point you in the direction of free beer, so head to Good Records Saturday, between 7 and…
Carrie Ann Heart and Michael Trent’s savory Southern stew of folk, rock and blues makes the buzz they’ve received for their debut album as Shovels & Rope, O’ Be Joyful, highly warranted. In concert, their loving chemistry is apparent, as each takes a seamless turn on a single snare, guitar…
This pairing is an inspired one, and especially notable for fans of Lauryn Hill, who have been wondering where the follow-up to 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has been hiding. That (hopefully) comes with the release of her new album, Black Rage. And with that title, we can definitely…
How metal is a band that markets its own hot sauce? When the band in question is Austin’s kings of metal, The Sword, the answer is: Insanely. Along with showing off their culinary contributions on a recent episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, the quartet, led by J.D. Cronise, recently…
