Gig Alert: Hayes Carll Plays 8.0's in Fort Worth Tonight

Those with a little time on their hands tonight--y'know, those who aren't already planning on attending either Blink-182 at Superpages.com Center, Pink at the American Airlines Center, Ra Ra Riot at the Granada, Nobunny up at Mable Peabody's in Denton, Every Time I Die at the House of Blues, our own Best of Dallas party at Trees, or even our weekly DC9 in SPACE taping at, uh, SPACE--might do well spending in Cowtown, catching singer-songwriter Hayes Carll performing at 8.0 Restaurant and Bar.

One of the most talented songwriters in the state--and that's saying something--Carll's 2008 album, Trouble in Mind, made our sister paper the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll's top albums list that year (coming in at No. 60), and Carll also that year's poll's top songs list ("She Left Me For Jesus" came in at No. 36). But what's really remarkable about Carll is his varied and dedicated following. Normally, a song like "Jesus," would offend the more religiously inclined country listener--but one look at the usual crowd at a Carll show finds folks from all persuasions, including the traditional country fans. Perhaps like John Prine,  Carll has the ability to transcend the easy associations and subversively hit his target without folks realizing he's poking fun at them.

In any case, fans of astute and witty songwriting should really consider spending this evening in Cowtown.