Some good stuff to do tonight (don't have time to figure out all these links, but check back after five and I'll have them)

1. The Alexander/Fra Pandolf/Knee Pad (Darkside Lounge)
Fra Pandolf were one of the winners of the "Best New Band Award" here at We Shot J.R. Go see what the minor buzz is about.

2. Metrognome Collective (Fort Worth)
Stumptone/The Harpeth Trace/ Shiny Around the Edges: Shiny Around The Edges is really one of the best bands in Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton right now. Go see this. Its at a great venue, and its five bucks.

3. IDI* Amin/ Unconscious Collective (J & J's Pizza)
This one is FREE. IDI* Amin is one of the interesting experimental noise bands out in Denton these days, and Unconscious Collective is a free jazz/punk/freak out thing featuring former Sanctuary Studios resident Aaron Gonzalez. Should be a good one.

4. Hip Hop Night (Slip Inn) Yes it sounds lame, but no, it really isn't. And although we called it "old school" last week, someone suggested that it wasn't old or new but middle school. Fifth grade like junior high. I really hate the fucking Bloodhound Gang. But really, you WILL have fun at the Slip Inn tonight.

Its about 14 hours after the Dinosaur Jr. show at Gypsy, and I'm just now recovering from thoroughly getting my ass kicked. What a fucking show. It was easily the best concert I've been to all year, which is sort of sad when you consider the fact that J Mascis looks like a roadie for Country Joe and the Fish these days (even though Lou Barlow looks about, um, 25.) But aesthetics aside, Mascis and company were somehow able to mostly transcend 90's nostalgia (which will probably be trendy in a couple years) and put on a show that seemed about as relevant and timely as possible for a band that hasn't put out any new music in almost a decade.

They stuck to early, Barlow era Dinosaur material, playing all the hits ("Freak Scene," "The Wagon," etc.) and some rare gems that I didn't expect. The sound was tight, loud, and powerful, and Mascis was as flawless and inspiring on guitar as I imagined he possibly could be, not to mention the fact that Barlow played really well and Murph completely rocked the place on drums. Like I said yesterday, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this show. Would it feel like a "Greatest Hits" tour, something that was a tad out of step with times, worth seeing only for the memories that you associate with the band's past glory? It easily could have been, but it wasn't. At all. Sure, the songs they played were all more than fifteen years old, and yes, a lot of really crappy bands that have emerged since that time have taken little pieces of the Dinosaur sound and turned it into, well, crap. But that didn't matter one bit to me and the slightly too old for a rock concert crowd. It also didn't seem to matter to the surprising number of younger people there (as in uncer 21), proving that the kids have slightly better taste than they are normally given credit for. Dinosaur's songs are big and sprawling, sloppy and massive, and have pretty much nothing to do with the 80's retro post-punk thing that is getting too old to even mention these days. It was refreshing to hear these songs again, and even more refreshing to be reminded that I still like them, and that there still aren't very many bands on the "indie" circuit that can hold a fucking candle to these guys.

I think this was probably the one and only chance I will ever get to see these guys play live, and I am thrilled that I shelled out the 20 bucks to do so. Anyone that went to that Jenny Lewis show instead made a HUGE mistake.

What the hell did you think was gonna be on this list today anyway? Even though I probably don't need to tell you, a fully reunited Dinosaur Jr. will be playing the Gypsy Tea Room Ballroom tonight. We're really excited, as Dino was one of our favorite bands back in the diz. But we're also a little unsure of what to expect, seeing as how J Mascis is completely gray these days, not to mention the fact that Mascis and Lou Barlow pretty much NEVER got along at any point in the band's existence. How long can they stay together this time? Doors are at 7, but you can wait until after the first band is done (they suck) and show up for Dead Meadow around 830 or 9.

If you live in denton and/or aren't feeling the Dinosaur thing, you can go to the Party with Dj Nature at Rubber Gloves. Dentonites that are going to the show tonight will probably have more than enough time to stop by Rubber Gloves for a nightcap on the way home.

Reviewing local music can make you sound like a broken record sometimes. We find ourselves using variations of the word "potential" to describe a lot of local bands, and we often wonder how useful it is to tell you that a band "could be good if (blank)," or that another band sounds like they "might be really great some day if they did such and such." Of course a mediocre band could be really good some day, and of course certain bands would be better if they made such and such improvements. That is obvious. But in order to be fair, we feel the need to differentiate between a band that just flat out sucks and one that isn't great right now but, um, has potential. We also recognize, however, that there is a great deal of variation in the level of quality amongst bands in the latter category, and those differences must be pointed out too if a record review is really going to be useful to anyone. Some of these bands seem to be headed in the right direction, while some are clearly headed in the wrong direction despite being good musicians or interesting songwriters or whatever. Others don't seem to know exactly where they are headed, which makes it hard for us to figure out where we stand.

Blackheart Society appears to be a band in that third category. Believe, their first release, has all the markings of a new band still trying to find its sound: genres are hopped, influences are clear, and the songwriting is subpar in spots. However, Blackheart Society is also a band that, um, could be really good at what they do once they figure out what it is they want to do. Instruments are played well, production choices are mature, a few of the songs are damn catchy, and the singing is quite good most of the time. In fact, Believe is actually pretty strong in many spots, especially for a first ep, even if it does falter in several respects.

There isn't anything too revolutionary about what Blackheart Society does. You'll hear The Cure, Neil Young, Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Stones and the Beatles pretty clearly upon first listen, and you'll probably be impressed with opener "Big Scar," which is surely the strongest track on the ep. "Big Scar" is a good example of the kind of song that Blackheart Society sounds most comfortable playing: concise, poppy, country influenced folk rock with a touch of 60's psychedelic. However, things come close to falling apart on songs like "Say You Want Me," where the band drags on for too long with just one idea, and on "Why Song of 89," which starts off with a dark new wave verse that turns into an unnecessary shout-along chorus that seems terribly out of place on the track. Aside from some cliche and sometimes cringeworthy lyrics, the main problem here seems to be that the band is hoping to be everything to everyone in their attempt to mix and match some of the more popular sounds of rock history. This creates an uneven vibe throughout the ep in which you don't know what you're going to hear next... but are afraid that you might not like it when you do.

But fear not, because its not all doom and gloom. Along with "Big Scar," "Whiskey Railroad" is a truly catchy and well written country pop song that will certainly standout during live performances, and "The Ballad of King George" showcases the band's ability to harmonize (although I can't tell who is actually singing) and branch out soundwise without moving too far from what they are good at. Salim Nourallah's production is also quite strong throughout, showing not only his talents but also the band's good taste in their approach to recording. And again, Ben Flemming is obviously a solid lead singer with good range, which immediately sets the band apart from many other locals, even though he still has some work to do as a lyricist.

Believe is truly a mixed bag, and while it falls short of being something that we would completely recommend, it also has enough strong moments to avoid being something that we would tell you to stay away from. In fact, we can't really figure out what to tell you aside from the obvious: Blackheart Society is new band, and they probably have enough talent to start becoming a good band. But Believe has its share of problems that make it unclear as to where this band is heading next.

So who is this Wanz Dover, the winner of the J.R. Award for Best Local DJ and the frontman of Mazinga Phaser II, winner of Best Experimental Group? Well, thats a picture of him on the left. And, if you want to hear him in action, you can head to the Cavern upstairs tonight for the Lost Generation, where all kinds of good shit will be played. Tonight Wanz will be doing a special tribute to the recently deceased Nikki Sudden, former member of the all important post punk band Swell Maps. For the kids out there- Swell Maps were a big influence on Pavement and countless other bands, but are also really fun to listen to on their own. I'm sure Wanz will also be playing some of his normal stuff there, which includes Kraut, shoegaze, indie, and everything else under the cooler-than-you sun.

As promised, here are the rest of the J.R. Award results. One funny thing to note: The Cavern is apparently the third BEST venue in town, but is simultaneously the WORST venue in town. You picked em, not us.

BEST VENUE: DOUBLEWIDE (2. Rubber Gloves; 3. The Cavern)

WORST BAND: BELAFONTE (2. Black Tie Dynasty; 3. Strangleweed)

BEST NEW ACT: TIE: FRA PANDOLF; PRAYER FOR ANIMALS

WORST VENUE: CAVERN

BEST DJ: WANZ DOVER (2. Wild in the Streets; 3. DJ Nature)

BEST EXPERIMENTAL: MAZINGA PHASER II (2. Undoing of David Wright; 3. Silk Stockings)

Now we don't know which bands voted for themselves a bunch of times and blah blah blah, but theres nothing we can do about it anyway. So there you have it. We'll do this again in December as well.

Our new friends at Radio UTD have sent us their CMJ playlist chart, which is based on total airplay by all DJs on the station in a given week. This is last week's chart:

1. Liars - Drum's Not Dead
2. Talkdemonic - Beat Romantic
3. Metal Hearts - Socialize
4. Calexico - Garden Ruin
5. Centro-matic - Fort Recovery
6. The Boy Least Likely To - The Best Party Ever
7. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Etiquette
8. Mogwai - Mr. Beast
9. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
10. Hotel Lights - Hotel Lights
11. Nightmares on Wax - In a Space Outta Sound
12. Eagle*Seagull - Eagle*Seagull
13. eels - eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall
14. The Sword - Age of Winters
15. Maximo Park - Missing Songs
16. Loose Fur - Born Again in the USA
17. Stereolab - Fab Four Suture
18. Glenn Kotche - Mobile
19. Grand National - Kicking the National Habit
20. Te' - If That Is What Is Being Thought, Liberated Sound Talks the Depth of "Musical" World
21. Lilys - Everything Wrong is Imaginary
22. Treasure Mammal - Expect the Max
23. Man Man - Six Demon Bag
24. J. Dilla - Donuts
25. About - Bongo
26. Various Artists - I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey
27. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas
28. Quasi - When the Going Gets Dark
29. Envelopes - Demon
30. Jel - Soft Money

We'll start posting this chart, along with the Good Records chart, every Tuesday. Because we're chart dorks.

Radio UTD Website

Radio UTD Myspace page

Undoing of David Wright is playing tonight at Rubber Gloves with Scream Club, which we mentioned last night, 80 Sheets and Lindsey Stone. We don't have time to listen to the other bands playing with Undoing, so figure it out your damn self.

what are your indietastic neighbors in Dallas listening to? If they shop at Good Records, then it is probably something off this list:

1. The Black Angels - Passover
2. Mates of State - Bring It Back
3. Liars - Drum's Not Dead
4. Loose Fur - Born Again In The USA
5. Magic Numbers - Magic Numbers
6. Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery
7. Man Man - Six Demon Bag
8. Mogwai - Mr. Beast
9. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
10. Stereolab - Fab Four Suture
11. Tunng - Mother's Daughter & Other Songs
12. Pilotdrift - Water Sphere
13. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
14. Sondre Lerche - Duper Sessions
15. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Etiquette
16. Ms. John Soda - Notes And The Like
17. Tortoise/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Brave And The Bold
18. The Flaming Lips - The Fearless Freaks: 20 Years of Weird
19. Editors - The Back Room
20. Bosque Brown - Bosque Brown plays Mara Lee Miller

Nice to see that a lot of people are buying that Liars album. It really is the best album of 2006 so far.

Thanks to Good Records for sending us their list. We'll start posting one of their charts every week.

We didn't get as many people to vote in this poll as we wanted, but based on some email requests we received from a couple of people, we decided to tally up the votes anyway. Undoing of David Wright won best band, followed closely by Record Hop and Theater Fire. Can't say that we're too shocked by this result, even though Undoing wasn't one of the bands that voted for themselves a bunch of times in a row. We've decided to post these results, and then take another vote at the end of they year to see if anything has changed. By then, we should have a form or something to make the whole thing easier. Thanks to the people that voted.

We'll give you the rest of the results tomorrow.

My sister often tries to push new music on me. Sadly, 99% of it is usually the latest thuggy craze sweeping the redneck wigger club she frequents. The other 1% is some pseudo-indie bullshit she heard on her boyfriend’s XM radio. She calls me from small town record stores to ask me, “Have you ever heard of A Modest Mouse?” To which I reply with a sigh and a “Yeah I think so.” But at least she’s trying.

Well, the past week or so, she kept asking me if I’d ever heard of a band called Skybox, and remarkably I hadn’t. She said they were playing in her town, and she really liked them and she thought I would too. I blew her off and told her to quit calling me, thinking it was just some more lame-o crap she heard in the dressing room at Abercrombie & Fitch. But then I felt bad, as I’ve only got one sister. So I humored her and went to their Myspace page. Then I had to stand up and wait for the monkeys to fly out of my butt: My sister had actually recommended something to me that I liked.

Three of the four tracks up there are just so-so. But the first one grabbed me with a goofy, rinky-dink piano, and dug in with a headstrong hand-clap pop-chorus. Sure, the guys sings a little like David Cross in that one Mr. Show sketch, and the lyrics are a little creepy – but I haven’t stopped listening to it for, like, two days. There’s a recent wave of this unapologetic theme pop, and I’m thankful. I hate the dark, thick wall of noise stuff. I credit Sesame Street. That show taught me about beginnings, middles and ends. It taught me about clapping along and counting, and I guess it taught a few other people that too, since it seems they’ve all grown up and started bands. So sit down – next to the Starlight Mints and the Happy Bullets – it’s not snack time, it’s time for sharing. Chicago’s Skybox plays tonight at Darkside Lounge.

Tonight, Darkside Lounge appears to be where all the action is if you're into, um, lesbian punk rock hip hop duos that may or may not include a guy. That is what Scream Club is. Another We Shot J.R. favorite, Eat Avery's Bones, will be playing one of their 20 minute sets as well, along with Skybox and something called Girls Rise with Heat that we don't know anything about.

You can read the description of Skybox above this post. It is written by a new We Shot J.R. writer that we will for now call Taunto. Let us know what you think of this new development.

1. Stereolab/Sam Prekop/ Archer Prewitt (Nokia Theater)
I think everyone I know has free tickets to this show. And its a good thing, because despite the fact that Stereolab and the Sea and Cake guys are old favorites here at We Shot J.R., there are some risk factors for this show: 1) its at Nokia; 2) the most recent Stereolab we've heard hasn't been very good; 3) and you have to drive to Grand Prarie. If none of those things bother you, then you'll probably have fun.

2. Voot Cha Index | My Heart is a Machine | Washing Machine (Red Blood Club)
Three young bands that we like quite a bit are playing at one of the dumbest clubs in Dallas. Should be fun anyway though.

Man. Sometimes things sound a lot different on Myspace than they do in person. S-1 Committee is one of those bands. We really liked what we heard on Myspace: muffled, noisy, lo-fi sloppiness with soft vocals that you couldn't really understand. It was interesting and fairly catchy if nothing else. Live, however, the band seems to be a different proposition, as the vocals move front and center in the mix, creating an entirely different sound. For s-1 Committee, this is not a good thing.

Now, we don't think that you have to be a great singer to be a great singer, you just have to be interesting or compelling in some way. If you can't sing or write lyrics, fine. A lot of bands we love (Jesus and Mary Chain for example) can't do either. But damn it, if that is the case you've gotta hide it a little bit. Put some reverb on the vocals. Turn them down in the mix. Slur your words. Something. That is what the singer for S-1 should have done last night, because it was the vocals that really held them back. The lyrics were fairly immature, and delivered in a loud, cutesy and off-key manner that really didn't seem to go along at all with what the rest of the band was doing. The music was actually pretty good, and the band was able to capture much of what we liked about their Myspace songs live, which was probably a fairly difficult task. And we wouldn't have even minded the singing so much if we just didn't have to hear it so clearly. But we did, and as a result we were less than impressed with the show.

If these guys make some adjustments from a vocals standpoint, they could be really good band. Until then, however, we'll have to throw them in the "Wait and see" file.

1. The Shapes | S-1 Committee | Teenage Symphony (Rubber Gloves)
Wow. We had never heard either S-1 or Teenage Symphony until today, and we really like both. S-1 has kind of a poppy Jesus and Mary Chainish meets Mercury Rev meets twee synth pop thing happening, and we're interested to hear how this translates live. Add the Shapes, a band we already like, and you've got the best show of the night.

2. Mazinga Phaser | Jack with One Eye (Darkside Lounge)

3. Metrognome Collective: Man Factory | My Heart is a Machine (Fort Worth)
Good venue, and My Heart is a Machine is a solid young pop band that you might be hearing more about soon.