With the exception of Dinosaur Jr. (9 p.m. Saturday at the House of Blues, $25) and John Fogerty, there aren’t many noteworthy national acts playing in the area this weekend. There’s no excuse not to catch some great local music.
Agent Orange, The Lash Outs, Kansas City Faggots, The Bleach Boys 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7. The Red Blood Club (2617 Commerce St.)
The Bleach Boys’ loud, fuzzed-out surf punk makes them a great choice to open for Agent Orange, an old-school poppy surf-punk band from Cali. The Lash Outs play the good, snarling punk-rock their name implies. Agent Orange is certainly worth sticking around for, especially if the group plays “Bloodstains,” which the Offspring ripped off for “Keep ‘Em Separated,” or Agent's cover of the Get Smart theme song.
89.3 KNON Hip-Hop Benefit. 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. The Bone (2724 Elm St.). CANCELED.
Damn. Pledge to 89.3 FM and listen Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., anyway. EZ Eddie D’s butter blends of local and underground hip-hop are a must-hear for hip-hop heads.
Eleven Hundred Springs, Spitfire Tumbleweeds, 100 Damned Guns, George Neal & the Slow Burners, AM Ramblers 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. Hailey's (122 W Mulberry St., Denton). $5.
Even without a drummer, the tight harmonies and badass banjo and fiddle of the opening AM Ramblers will make you want to start chugging Lone Stars right off the bat. Pace yourself, though, because you don’t want to miss former Little Grizzly singer George Neal’s excellent folk rock, the Tumbleweeds’ raucous country rock or 100 Damned Guns’ turbo-charged hillbilly rock.
Shiny Around the Edges is excellent. Dark, heavy, moody and slow with subtle ambient sounds and a caged aggression just barely kept in check. There’s nothing subtle, caged or slow about Drink to Victory’s loud punk-rock assault. The band earns bonus points for all three members posting what appear to be Denton County Jail book-in photos on their MySpace page. If you can’t make it to Denton, check out Shiny on Sunday at 3 p.m. at a Good Records free in-store with Tre Orsi and Douche.
Art Conspiracy III with Red Monroe, Kristy Kruger, Sarah Jaffe and DJ sets from Sober and Stephen Ruiz 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9. The Prophet Bar at The Door (Formerly the Gypsy Tea Room, 2513 Main St.). $10.
Great artists and great musicians conspire to raise funds for the St. Anthony Community Center, which provides affordable or free music and art lessons for Dallas kids. Art Con II was one of the coolest events I’ve ever attended. I can’t recommend this highly enough. But there’s another art/music collaboration over in Cowtown. No worries, though. I have a feeling they’ll attract very different audiences.
Ye Olde Art Show with Bleach Boys, Koji Kondo, Angry Businessmen, Rocket for Ethiopia, Rival Gang and Fake Blood 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9. 1919 Hemphill (the venue’s name is the address, knucklehead. It’s in Fort Worth.) $5.
This features art created by band members, and will be punk as fuck. The Bleach Boys should kick ass, again, and Koji Kondo’s brutal live show oughtta inspire some moshing despite Hemphill’s “no booze, no jerks” policy. -- Jesse Hughey
