Sit on it, Magnetic Fields. (Chris Buck) In last week’s paper, Observer contributor Elliott Johnston spoke at length with Magnetic Fields brainchild Stephin Merritt about parents, Entertainment Weekly, album titles, volume control, and plenty of other things. But what caught my eye was this little nugget Merritt shared about his…
The Roots, Gym Class Heroes, Estelle Palladium Ballroom October 11, 2008 Better than: dealing with the fallout from a long overdue nastygram to your boss… I’m the first to admit that the most I know about Gym Class Heroes is that “Cupid’s Chokehold” song that comes on the radio every…
The Walkmen and The Little Ones House of Blues’ Pontiac Garage October 11, 2008 Better than: hanging out on Greenville Avenue with all the drunken Longhorn and Sooner fans. (By the way: Way to go Longhorns! 45-35!) Hamilton Leithauser, singer for indie rock darlings The Walkmen, definitely has that frontman…
The Cardinals Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie October 11, 2008 Better Than: Watching Saturday Night Live–which is what I would have been doing had Mr. Adams and company cancelled this show, as they did in Kansas City and Tulsa Thursday and Friday. Despite all the Internet hand-wringing over the possible…
Aural Ambush is back this week, with a handful of folks around West Village weighing in on “Morning Tide” by the Little Ones. The Los Angeles fivesome says their sound blends indie, folk rock and psychedelia — but the shoppers and workers we caught had ideas of their own. “Morning…
Just got word from Ryan Adams’ publicist that the show is a go. So, no need to freak out any more. Have fun tonight, if you’re going. –Pete Freedman…
The Eli Young Band is so serious right now. There’s a crap-load of good shows going on about town this weekend, folks. Almost too many, really. And couple that with all the TX/OU stuff (check our special listings just for this weekend here), and it’s gonna kinda be a bitch…
The Levitt Pavilion in downtown Arlington’s Founders Plaza begins its premiere season of “Free Music Under The Stars” at 7:30 tonight with a bang–a nuclear polka explosion, to be more precise–when Brave Combo takes the stage. Their performance follows a ribbon cutting and appearances by “local dignitaries.” Children’s musician Eddie…
Just a reminder, since Good Friday won’t be ready for, oh, another hour or so, and since this show’s about to start within the half-hour: Pete Best, the Beatles’ original drummer, will be performing a free in-store set at Bill’s Records any minute now. So, y’know, get on it. –Pete…
A couple astute (and no doubt Google News-reading) Ryan Adams fans have reached out to DC9 today looking for some info about tomorrow night’s Cardinals show at Grand Prairie’s Nokia Theatre. Why? Well, ’cause Adams and Co. canceled last night’s show in Kansas City and, already, tonight’s gig in Tulsa…
From the deep indie department comes this late critic’s pick for this evening: Kal at The Blue Danube European Restaurant & Café in Arlington. Two summers ago, I reviewed Kal’s debut effort for the print edition of the Observer and little has changed in my opinion that this collection of…
Folks might recall that it was just this past February that No Depression magazine stopped the presses, closing down the revered alt-country/Americana publications after 13 years of keeping us all abreast concerning the ups and downs of rural music. But along with that news, co-founder Peter Blackstock sent out word…
Cat Power Palladium Ballroom October 9, 2008 Better Than: …unfortunately, not as many things as you’d hope. Download: Here’s a slide show from the performance. Almost two hours after starting her set at the Palladium Airplane Hangar last night, Chan Marshall, the alluring chanteuse behind the Cat Power moniker, waved…
Eddie Van Halen, April 15, 1978, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Jeffrey Liles) It was the spring of 1978 and rock music was in big trouble. The Village People’s “YMCA” was sharing space on the Billboard charts with the Bee Gees and Andy Gibb. The Rolling Stones had (gasp!) gone disco…
According to this stone-age photograph, Palin has dinosaur experience. Since the Republican nominee for vice president has stated that she believes that men and dinos coexisted at some indeterminate point in history, I decided to throw together a list of albums Mrs. Palin and her ever-swelling brood of children might…
This poster week’s poster promotes the wonderfully diverse upcoming Astronautalis, Picnic, Sarah Jaffe and Info-Red show at the Double-Wide. The sketches seem to go well with the historical content of Astronautalis’ new release. I’m still trying to find out the artist’s name, but I’ll update this as soon as I…
Rhett Miller fans eager for a chance to see him live can breathe easy: the Old 97’s frontman will perform a solo show Friday, November 21 at The Granada Theater. Brent Best of the Drams and Slobberbone will open the show, which will be MC’d by Gordon Keith. The show…
You’ve bought the ticket. You’ve washed the T-shirt. You and your best friend, also a big Apollo Sunshine fan, have been practicing your encore yells to make sure they’ll be irresistible at the band’s show in Dallas next Friday, October 17. Keep in mind, there is a global financial crisis…
“Four Moons Over My Hammies, please.” (Fred Morledge) Last time we heard from emo pop-punk act A Bird A Sparrow, the band was getting all defensive in the comments section after I compared them and other area emo pop-punk bands of their ilk to gremlins. Now the band is back…
Kinda forgot it ever left, but a little birdy in the inbox chirped to remind me today that Barefoot At The Belmont, the outdoor concert series at Oak Cliff’s Belmont Hotel, where musicians play to the backdrop of the Dallas skyline, is back in business, starting next Thursday night, with…
The band’s name is crass, and song titles like “Myke Ptyson” and “Iaadeedaa” hardly help bolster any early confidence in liking them. But Starfucker’s self-titled debut is, indeed, a smart, multi-layered gem of indie-pop splendor. The album’s opener, “Florida,” establishes the band’s simple yet delightfully complex sound with its dreamy…
Of all of the major figures in rock ‘n’ roll (with the still unexplained exclusion of Van Morrison), Roy Orbison is one of the last to finally be anthologized via box set. That omission has been thankfully rectified with The Soul of Rock and Roll, a four-disc collection that spells…
