Preview: Beau Wanzer at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio

Discipline brings in guest DJs every once in a while, and because those guys have good taste, they’re usually high-caliber. Chicago electronic musician Beau Wanzer has a pretty impressive track record, and there’s no denying Chicago’s industrial and house music past has seeped into his jams. He’s a true gearhead,…

Preview: Ben Kweller at the Granada Theater

Kweller’s latest LP, Go Fly a Kite, is notable not only because it shows him stretching out his pop and country influences, but also because it’s his first on his own label, the Austin-based Noise Company. At age 30, the former North Texan is enjoying a second act not many…

Preview: Record Store Day

Whatever your feelings about Record Store Day — whether you’re a champion of the five-year-old national event or proponent of the “everyday should be Record Store Day” mentality — it has some nice perks. The special Flaming Lips vinyl LP everyone in Dallas seems to have a hand in pouring…

Preview: Starkey at 3025 Main

As one of the original producers of American dubstep, PJ Geissinger has responded to the genre’s transition from the U.K. underground to packed arenas by searching for a happy medium. While running his Seclusiasis and Slit Jockey label, Starkey landed on the U.K. electronic imprint Planet Mu for his first…

Edgefest 22 at FC Dallas Stadium

There are all sorts of jokes to be made about Edgefest being in Frisco this year, but we’ll save those for later. KDGE-FM 102.1 The Edge’s annual festival has become a tradition, and its legions are many. Let’s focus instead on headliners The Black Keys, who have hopefully recovered from…

Ten Of This Week’s Most Notable Show Announcements

Gillian WelchSaturday, June 9, at Majestic TheaterWithout hearing a note, you can expect Welch’s music to be have weight. Maybe it has to do with her story of being the daughter of a touring musician and being given up for adoption. Or, maybe it’s because her earlier albums were given…

Dick Clark, 1929-2012

Man, it took about five minutes before the Dick Clark hologram jokes started pouring in via social media, but I can’t say I’m surprised. And even though Clark no doubt had a sense of humor, it’d been increasingly difficult to see him in the last few years, what with his…

Five Local Venues That Need To Step Up Their Game

Not sure if you caught last week’s Show Announcements post. There was some pretty good stuff in there, especially now that we’re entering live music’s busy season, but week after week the House Of Blues listings catch my eye. It’s one of the best venues in town. In fact, we…

Sleigh Bells – Granada Theater – 4/17/12

Sleigh Bells, Javelin, Elite Gymnastics Granada Theater Tuesday, April 17 Brooklyn’s Sleigh Bells made a Tuesday night feel like a Friday, like you’ve seen Run-DMC, Katy Perry and Atari Teenage Riot all at once. At 15 minutes to 10 p.m., vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek Miller came out with…

Kanye West’s “Theraflu,” Explained

America loves hip-hop music, but we don’t always understand the meaning behind the message. We love to dance awkwardly to “Rack City” in the comfort of our homes while throwing imaginary ones in the air, but seldom take the time to break down a song line by line to derive…

And the Rock the Park Finalists Are…

Remember just last month, when were were asking bands to submit demos to be part of Homegrown Fest? Remember when I proposed that instead of a musical battle, bands actually had to physically battle for favor? Oh, memories. Well, we’ve narrowed Rock the Park down to the top eight, four…

Hares On The Mountain – Dan’s Silverleaf – 4/15/12

Hares On The Mountain Dan’s Silverleaf Sunday, April 15 “It’s Denton church,” Harlin Anderson, creator of the annual mini-extravaganza Lumberjack Fest, told me two months ago, when describing the weekly Hares on the Mountain residency at Dan’s Silverleaf. To be sure, one can draw many parallels between the earmarks of…