Broken Social ScenePalladium BallroomAugust 7, 2009Better than: The last time I caught Broken Social Scene in Vancouver. Check out photos from the show in our slideshow here.When Broken Social Scene frontman and co-founder Kevin Drew fell ill earlier this year, the band was left with no choice but to back…
Bob Schneider, Odis and Charlie Shafter and the Gnomes The Granada Theater August 7, 2009 Better than: Listening to a 68-year-old man proposition you to lay across his big brass bed. If you’ve never attended a Bob Schneider gig, it’s highly probable you spent a good portion of last night’s…
Ida Maria, GlasvegasThe LoftAugust 4, 2009 Better than: taking a group of foreign exchange students to the mall. It took 20 minutes for it to happen, but, finally, here it was: some palpable, legitimate energy about the room at The Loft during Glasvegas’ set. It was all coming together–the band’s performance, its fairly impressive light show, the…
De La Soul with Kenan Bell and Rhythm Roots AllstarsHouse of BluesJuly 31, 2009Better than: shows from performers ten years younger than these headliners. It was interesting to see what the scene would look like for a rap act celebrating 20 years since its debut album; it seemed like it’d…
Asher Roth, Kid CudiHouse of BluesJuly 30, 2009 Better than: Catching up on recorded TV, like you’d originally planned. Asher Roth and Kid Cudi Last night was an absolute testament of the following truth: Radio is irrelevant if artists can otherwise reach their listeners. Because, despite Asher Roth’s being all but…
Reel Big Fish, The English BeatGilley’sJuly 26, 2009 Better than: Going to bed early out of loyalty to a 9 to 5 job you don’t like anyway.”Hey, after the show, you wanna turn this energy around and ride the rollercoaster on the ceiling?” says Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett,…
Care Bears On FireJuly 19House of Blues First off, I am a father of a 9-year-old daughter and, as such, I sometimes have to succumb to the musical tastes of a girl whose obsession with Taylor Swift is beginning to become disconcerting. So when my daughter asked me to take…
Sonic YouthHouse of BluesJuly 15, 2009 Better than: getting a good night’s sleep. The Eternal may be the 16th album released by seminal noise rockers Sonic Youth, and members Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon may be in their fifties–but you’d never have thought either were true by the performance the…
Rx Bandits, Dredg, Good Old WarGranada TheaterJuly 14, 2009 Better Than: Staying in to watch that overrated jackass on Hell’s Kitchen. They look unwashed, unshaven, lazy and listless. They’re wearing what looks like the same clothes they pulled on days ago. They resemble Austin street-hippy people. …
BeyonceAmerican Airlines CenterJuly 5, 2009 Better than: Filming my own Youtube version of “Single Ladies.” Dallas was lucky to have Beyonce stop by last night on her international “I Am” tour de force. From start to finish, the show was phenomenal: Not only was it a showcase of her powerful,…
Vans Warped TourSuperpages.com CenterJuly 5, 2009 Better Than: falling asleep on the beach and getting a funny-looking tan. The weather could have been way worse for Sunday’s Warped Tour date. It could have rained all day. Or it could have been sunny and extremely hot. Luckily, the weather fluctuated between…
Boyz II Men, Eric BenetBass Performance HallJuly 1, 2009Better than: Um….getting my car towed? So…maybe Boyz II Men should have opened for Eric Benet, and not the other way around.Eric Benet, from the moment he walked on stage, had the crowd (a)roused with his forceful voice and charming interjections between…
Nylon Magazine Summer Music Tour Featuring Patrick WolfGranada TheaterJune 30, 2009 Better than: Sitting at home reading Nylon. Maybe. Check out our slideshow from the show, too.London-born multi-instrumentalist Patrick Wolf definitely wasn’t shy last night at the Granada Theater, as he gallivanted around the stage playing a good mix of…
Starlight Mints, Evangelicals, Matthew and the Arrogant SeaGranada TheaterJune 25, 2009 Better than: being stuck at home finishing another week’s installment of “North of the Dial” (as I am every Thursday night). A solid lineup on last night’s bill made for a solid evening of great music as all three…
Jenny Lewis, Heartless BastardsGranada Theater June 23, 2009 Better than: The Gospel According to Patti LaBelle. For photos from the show, be sure and check out our slideshow too.If not for the crashing rumble of IPA bottles getting tossed into the trash punctuating each song throughout Jenny Lewis’ set at…
B Real, Bizzy Bone, Smooth Vega, Qween $ching & Clark Perry, SKS, Steve Victory.June 20, 2009PurgatoryBetter than: just slowin’ down in an Escalade to peep.Live hip-hop is what it is: Pound-for-pound against traditional live music, it’s a step-sister of the karaoke family–vocals set to a recording. It’s a crapshoot, at…
St. VincentGranada TheaterJune 18, 2009 Better than: the first time you watch Bambi. Check out photos from the show in our slideshow, too.There she stood on stage, impossibly cherubic and near-porcelain with her noir-ish good looks, appearing oh-so-innocent one moment and possessed by something evil the next. It’s an alluring duality indeed, watching St…
SantigoldHouse of BluesJune 18, 2009 Better than: Watching this guy. Check out more photos from the show in our slideshow.Santigold, the artist formerly known as Santogold (whose real name is Santi White), stopped by House of Blues last night to deliver a scorching performance on the latter half of her current…
Camera Obscura, Anni RossiThe LoftJune 16, 2009 Better Than: Staying at home and building your own camera obscura. Radio has long lost its hold on the music-seeking masses, having essentially been replaced by music blogs, the seeming medium of choice for fans looking for bands that are new and different than what they are…
Grizzly Bear, Here We Go MagicGranada TheaterJune 15, 2009 Better than: pretending I wanted room to dance anyway… There’s nothing like a false start to a song to gauge an audience’s mood at a concert. Take what happened seven songs into Grizzly Bear’s set at the Granada Theater last night, for instance. …
Viva Voce, Cut Off Your Hands, and Robert GomezHailey’s ClubJune 12th, 2009Better Than: imagining Clap Your Hands Say Yeah covering Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends in its entirety.Hailey’s hosted another fine show on Friday night, but only a couple dozen people came out to see it…
Music aside, one big part of the fun at Bonnaroo is just experiencing the interaction of strangers who would never have anything to do with each other outside of such a frenzied environment. This is true everywhere, from the open-air drug markets along “Shakedown Street” to the campgrounds to the…
