Last weekend was a little dead, y’know with Christmas and all, but this weekend is the opposite. In fact, there are so many New Year’s Eve events worth checking out that we’ve got a separate massive list here.The biggest one, though, is easily the Dallas Observer-sponsored Lights All Night festival…
Last night, Texas’ own Kelly Clarkson did something Americans do: She casually endorsed a candidate for President on her Twitter account. That person was fellow Texan Ron Paul. Cue Twitstorm. Today she clarified her stance, sort of: “I am really sorry if I have offended anyone. Obviously that was not…
I’m not one for New Year resolutions, but at the beginning of 2011, I made one I was actually pretty excited about keeping. My goal was to listen to more music this year than any other year before. Thanks to the help of some generous publicists, Spotify and some solid…
Few weeklies in the area boast more daring and obscure all-vinyl sets than Discipline at Rubber Gloves. Helmed by Andrew Haas (Lychgate), Shane English (Corporate Park and Mistress), Kate DePetris, Jonah Lange (Lychgate and Corporate Park) and Kathryn Falvo (Marriage Material), Discipline is fueled by the DJs’ personal collections of…
Dallas, you love the dance music, don’t you? Stretched across two nights and three distinctive rooms, Lights All Night promises to be an electronic music event you can probably see from space. Think of it as a DJ buffet: You’ve got the Dance Hall, featuring Girl Talk, MSTRKRFT, Ghostland Observatory,…
This year’s best show, I am still convinced, happened in February, when noise rock godheads Swans played Mohawk in Austin. My hearing was left impaired, my spine crooked, my spirit broken. I’ve never felt more alive. I’d interviewed frontman Michael Gira by phone before the show and asked why he…
National Top 10–(Nick Rallo) 10. Centro-matic, Candidate Waltz The best album made in Texas this year. Will Johnson’s songwriting is nearing Hattori Hanzo sword-sharp. 9. Deep Dark Woods, The Place I Left Behind If you once gave a shit about Jay Farrar, still give a shit about Centro-matic, Wilco, or…
With his 56th birthday quickly approaching, one might think Robert Earl Keen would be happy to just coast along on two decades of music. Yet his most recent effort, Ready for Confetti, has garnered some of the best reviews since 1994’s Gringo’s Honeymoon, something he attributes to a newfound confidence…
New Year’s Eve in Dallas, we’ve heard, “goes off.” Here are a few suggestions to help you find your way. At Club Dada, Astronautalis, Gallery Cat, Hello Lover, the Mystery Skulls and everyone’s favorite Hall & Oates cover band, the Rich Gurls, spice up your night. The Polyphonic Spree, Centro-matic…
It’s a far cry from B.B. King’s legendary 1968 performance at Fillmore West in San Fransisco, where the story has it that he was booed by black audience members. But, as he’s done many times since, King is returning to perform at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth on Saturday,…
The new EP from producer and former Sore Loser Brandon Blue is discordant, slowed down, spaced out, chopped up. After a few listens, you definitely feel the effects. Numb’s release was preceded by an “experimental” short film of the same name, and Blue, now affiliated with Dallas hip-hop collective Brain…
Often, usually after a long night out, in the wee hours of the morning, I find myself fixated on my computer, repeatedly blaring whatever music video strikes my fancy at the time. While there are certain videos I frequently resort to — I’m a sucker for anything by Thieves Like…
In case you’re already blinded by the golden aura of 2012’s major releases — The Shins, T.I., Soundgarden, Nicki Minaj, Mumford & Sons, Muse, Sigur Ros — we want to make sure you don’t forget about some other sure-to-be-top-notch albums that will see release next year. They may not shine…
Tim DeLaughter has never played a solo show. Not one anybody can remember, anyway. But last week, the Kessler Theater added his name as the opening act for YES lead singer Jon Anderson on Tuesday, February 28. The show is part of the venue’s “Storytellers” series, which has already featured…
If that 2012 movie was right — and it surely was because, ya know, Hollywood knows science — then we’re all going to die in a spectacularly crappy tidal wave of CGI effects next year. Huzzah. However, that movie came out in 2009. C’mon, Hollywood. We need to be more…
Whoa, doesn’t it seem like Devin the Dude was, like, just here? Houston is definitely being represented at March’s 35 Denton, as Devin joins H-town daddy Bun B. Of note is the addition of Detroit’s Danny Brown, who teamed up with fellow Detroit rapper Black Milk for one of this…
Mark Pirro has been around the Dallas music scene for more than two decades as a member of Tripping Daisy, The Polyphonic Spree and currently Menkena. As a preview of The Spree’s New Year’s Eve show this Saturday at the House of Blues, we wanted to ask him about his…
Whenever Red Animal War plays, it feels more like an event than a show, which is great because the four-piece doesn’t shortchange an audience with their Texas-tinged version of post-hardcore. In the last few years, the band only plays around the holidays, but for plenty of good reasons. This year,…
It’s that time of the year where you’re sure to hear all the classic Christmas songs — the exact same songs you listened to the year before. Snooze! Enter the indies, adding their own twist to your holiday favorites so you don’t get sick of them. Okay, so we threw…
Hey, remember that best local hip-hop post we ran the other day? The one that mentioned A.Dd+? Well, the aforementioned duo, along with the help of DJ Sober, put out a special WADD Radio Holiday Podcast, featuring classic holiday hits, hilarious between-song banter, and they even took phone calls. Though…
They did, right here. And we’re inclined to agree. Congleton’s been all over DC9 at Night, most recently over the summer when his band the Nighty Nite made its debut with True Widow at the Double Wide. And he’s been all over everywhere else too, producing albums for a who’s-who…
The actual artistry of the album cover has been making a comeback. Of course, over the years, the cheesy head shot has gradually (for the most part) faded away and been replaced by, well, art. Go figure. Anyhow, 2011 was a particularly good year for the album cover. Well, there…
