Diarrhea Planet, Sealion, Atomic Tanlines Tuesday, February 5, at Bryan Street Tavern, $8/$10 For the best scuzzy garage-punk show you'll see all week, head to Bryan Street for Nashville's infamous Diarrhea Planet. The boys got a write-up in Spin a little while back, thanks to their label owners JEFF the Brotherhood, a Nashville sibling duo who runs the label Infinity Cat and who released Diarrhea Planet's debut full-length Loose Jewels. See 'em with Dallas garage-surf favorites Sealion and local destructive punk vandals Atomic Tanlines.
David Willingham Project Monday, February 4, at Sundown at Granada, Free David Willingham has been a staple of the Dallas reggae community for as long as he's lived here. From the weekly jam sessions he has helped host at the Balcony Club to production on several different projects, including Two Men & A Machine and Aton, Willingham integrates Jamaican vibes and tradition into a funk-infused rhythm that trademarks the sound as his own. Since 2008, Willingham has spent several weeks a year in Jamaica, collaborating with the royalty of the reggae world. His first album, Reunify, features the skill of legends such as Sly Dunbar and local hero Bernard Wright, both of whom have toured with huge names such as Peter Tosh and Charles Earland. See Willingham at Sundown at Granada this month for his new Monday night residency.
Bomb Atomic, The Ones You Loved, Wednesday, February 6, at Lola's Saloon, $5/$9 Fort Worth's funk foursome Bomb Atomic will headline a show this week with young, folk-pop newlywed couple The Ones You Loved, a duo that released its sophomore full-length, Night Owls Pt. 1, this past fall. Psychedelic meets jazz for Lindby, a Fort Worth jam band who opens the show. Although this Lola's bill is full of relatively young, unknown groups, they're worth checking out this week.G. Love and the Special Sauce, Swear and Shake Thursday, February 7, at Granada Theater, $30 In the beginning, Philadelphia native Garrett "G. Love" Dutton, who hit the national music scene like a fourth Beastie Boy, created the song "Cold Beverage" with his two-man backing band, Special Sauce. In 1994, the shambling song came from the trio's self-titled debut, and it slowly became a radio and MTV hit, fusing hip-hop to vintage blues, jazz and funk. The lively, lighthearted, summertime sing-along jam was highly popular on the East Coast, and the tune helped push that album's sales past the gold mark. Although G. Love has never since reached "Cold Beverage" status again, he keeps his body moving. Touring for what I can only assume will be an upcoming album, since the group's last effort was 2011's Fixin' to Die, the trio will hit Granada with indie folk quartet Swear and Shake and hopefully bust out some new material.
Matt Tolentino Thursday, Febrauary 7, at Bavarian Grill, Free At age 8, Matt Tolentino, a kid in East Dallas, became enchanted by the great Adrian Rollini, an early 20th century jazz instrumentalist best known for his bass sax in the speakeasy era just before the advent of big band swing music. Lucky for Dallas, Tolentino never came out from under Rollini's magic spell. Now in his 20s, Tolentino is proprietor of the city's coolest, quirkiest, retro jazz group, the Singapore Slingers, a full 18-piece orchestra with five strings, four reeds, three brass, five rhythm players and, of course, tah dah! ... Tolentino on the bass saxophone. Although best-known for his work with the orchestra, Tolentino plays a mean solo accordion, which he will break out for a solo performance at Bavarian Grill this Thursday night.
