All right. Maybe the headline was a little sensational. If the headline had been, “Interesting Charette Held,” you wouldn’t be here, would you? And there was some talk of dynamite last night at the “Connected City” seminar at the Nasher Sculpture Center. Different people, I’m sure, left last night’s deal…
We had gathered in an East Dallas home to have a party before a party when someone asked, “What is House of Plates?” The question grows more common with each soirée thrown by the Dallas group of um, bloggers? Event planners? Mysterious tweeters? Master Instragrammers? They are all those things,…
Way before the Pirates of the Caribbean films brought buccaneer chic back into vogue, various rock acts over the decades have mined this particular influence; some better than others. Here is a list of those who have been particularly ham-fisted, including one Adam Ant who performs this Sunday at the…
Dear Mexican: I had a conversation today with an 18-year-old Mexican co-worker that blew me away. She has a 3-month-old with her 19-year-old (also Mexican) unemployed boyfriend. They just found out she is pregnant again. After listening to her sob about it, I asked if she was going to keep…
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, talking last week about the worries some people harbor concerning the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination in Dealey Plaza, recalled his own recent visit to President Obama’s second inaugural in Washington. When a pro-life person climbed a tree and attempted to disrupt the inaugural, Rawlings…
Took the tour yesterday at Museum Tower, the new 42-story condo tower accused by The Dallas Morning News of torching the Nasher Sculpture Center in the arts district downtown with its reflected light. I’m no architecture critic. But, wow. Pretty damn sweet. Oh, not the torching. Sorry. I meant the…
Most know Barry Kooda from his days in The Nervebreakers, a local punk act that good fortune smiled on in an awful big way in the ’70s when they opened locally for The Boomtown Rats, The Police and even the grand triad of classic punk, The Ramones, Sex Pistols and…
For about three months I was a pre-law student in college — a fact, I have always felt, that should give me the right to dispense partial legal advice. Partial legal advice, in my view, is legal advice that you should rely on only partially. So with that in mind,…
While making of a list of the greatest music documentaries of all time would be an exercise in futility that would probably drive us insane, we can capably compile a list of six great documentaries made in the last five years. This list also includes a rash of great films…
Which event are we talking about here? Individual Dallas school board members — job-defenders who are sworn enemies of the ongoing school reform program — violate normal process to release an internal school district report highly critical of Dallas Superintendent Mike Miles. Before folks have time to read the thing,…
Ah, Detroit. This morning, saddened by the bleak news of bankruptcy and shame, I pulled from the shelf my worn copy of a book of Detroit legends and re-read my favorite of all, the story of the Loup Garou. French 17th century settlers on the shores of Lake St. Clair…
This week’s Dallas Observer is our Drinking Issue, featuring reviews, columns and 24 hours of drinking in Dallas. For the music section, we asked a few DFW musicians to share their drinking stories. Here’s the first. Many artists are afflicted/blessed with some form of mood/personality disorder. What do people with…
JFK assassination 50th anniversary news: City of Dallas releases video showing Dealey Plaza was occupied by Indians long before JFK assassination. Suburban library presents speech by guy who gave Lee Harvey Oswald ride to work. Boston auction announces it will hawk Oswald’s wedding ring. Mind if I slip something else…
This week’s Dallas Observer is our Drinking Issue, featuring reviews, columns and 24 hours of drinking in Dallas. For the music section, we asked a few DFW musicians to share their drinking stories. Here’s the first. Our band was scheduled to play at a bar in Amarillo. It’s a great…
Welcome to Alice Column, in which Alice Laussade writes stories about things on (roughly) the same day of (roughly) every week, making it (roughly) a column. Got an idea for a column? Start your own blog and write it up, you lazy shit. Me: “Going to the movies is so…
The good thing about growing up in the daily newspaper business back when I did: You were surrounded by a lot of really good drinkers. I don’t use that language facetiously. A good drinker is somebody who really does know how to drink, even drink a lot and still keep…
Hey, if you drop by here every once in a while and read this crap, then you may wonder, “What on earth is wrong with this guy?” I just want you to know, I have the same question. Today I finished reading the big editorial in our city’s only daily…
Lindsey BestAndrew Youssef [Editor’s Note: Longtime concert photographer Andrew Youssef found out almost two years ago that he had Stage IV Colon Cancer. In that time, he has continued to shoot tons of music events for our sister paper OC Weekly on top of other freelance work and working a…
Consider this your advance warning, Dallas. Amplified rock and roll is coming, and it’s not only coming hard, it’s coming at times that are mainly not weeknights, meaning you can combine two pursuits, metal concerts and binge drinking, that go hand in hand like butter on toast or rabbits and…
Recently I was on a search to hire a poster artist for a project of my own, and I happed across Scott Krakowski, and his new poster for a show coming up at The Crown and Harp. I loved his work. I found his prices to be expensive-leaning, but I…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…
The New York Times has a story on its front page today about the Trayvon Martin verdict reporting not only that Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law was not invoked by the defense but also quoting a legal expert who calls the law’s exclusion from defense arguments “a brilliant strategic move.”…
