Wow. Anyone who likes to dance and wasn't at the Green Elephant for Pase Rock on Saturday is extremely stupid... honestly, it was one of, if not THE best dance party that has happened in Dallas all year. Watching Pase Rock control the crowd was quite amazing, and the reactions of the crowd, ranging from non-stop dirty dancing to over the top jumping and screaming, were absoultely priceless. What a show. Congratulations to Central Booking for continuing to keep people excited around here. We'll have pictures and stuff a little later.
Tonight:
Punk Bunny | Sticky Buns | Farah | Christian! Teenage Runaway (Hailey's) CTR will be playing their first local show with Record Hop's Ashley Cromeens. I believe she is going to be a full fledged regular member of the band, but I'm not completely certain. The rest of the line up is solid except perhaps for the headliner, who might have a couple funny pictures on their Myspace page but not a whole hell of a lot more. I believe this will also be Farah's first live show since receiving the honor of appearing on Lindstrom's latest mix CD. But I won't say I told you so.
1. St. Vincent - Marry Me 2. The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army (Ltd.) 3. The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army 4. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther 5. Glen Farris - Glen Farris
OVERALL TOP 20
1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 2. Bishop Allen - And the Broken String 3. John Vanderslice - Emerald City 4. St. Vincent - Marry Me 5. Interpol - Our Love to Admire 6. Soundtrack - Once 7. The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army 8. National - Boxer 9. Justice - Cross 10. The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army (Ltd. Ed.) 11. Matthew Dear - Asa Breed 12. MF Doom - MM..Food (CD/DVD) 13. Menomena - Friend & Foe 14. Hentchmen - Hentch-Forth.Five 15. Dead C - Future Artists 16. Knife - Silent Shout (Deluxe) 17. Colleen - Les Ondes Silencieuses 18. Dungen - Tio Bitar 19. Aliens - Astronomy for Dogs 20. Ulrich Schnauss - Goodbye
Hot Flash (Fallout) Tonight's line up will feature Schwa, Wanz Dover and Killtronix. I guess Stephen R is out of town or something. Always good and always free. You'll hear everything from disco to eurohouse to ghetto tech to hip hop to funk. Something for everyone is probably an easy way to say it.
Deep Snapper | Cougar Den | Kaboom (Secret Headquarters) A solid hardcore/post-hardcore show that includes Cougar Den, who do a fairly good job with that sort of thing. An unknown and slightly pleasant surprise for me.
MC Chris | These Northern Lights | MC Router (Aardvark) Everyone reading is probably familiar with MC Chris, aka MC Pee Pants, but I wanted to say a quick little something about MC Router: really good. Saw her a couple months back at SHQ and was pleasantly surprised by the abstract nature of her music and the tangible talent she has as an MC. Trust me, I'd normally be the LAST guy to tell you to go watch some chick rap about video games, but believe me: she's way better than you think. Joy Electric | Mom | Sydney Confirm (The Cavern) This Joy Electric band is on Tooth and Nail, so I probably don't have to tell you why they suck. I include this show only to advertise the fact that Mom is playing, and to get a few people to check out Sydney Confirm, a young local band that has made great improvements in their psyche influenced synth/dance/pop sound to become a band worth casually keeping tabs on.
SATURDAY
Pase Rock | Nature/Select/Sober (Green Elephant) The big one of the weekend. Pase Rock, part of the large Baltimore Bass Connection collective that also boasts Spank Rock as members, is probably making some of the most creative, silly and contagious dance singles in America right now. He's known best for that "Lindsay Lohan's Revenge" track and video, which might the most NSFW music/video combo of all time, but everything else I've heard from him is just as fantastic. Taking the Spank Rock aesthetic and taking in more of disco/electrohouse direction (if only slightly), I probably don't even have to sell this show to you if drinking and dancing is part of your regular weekend operation. This will be loud, crowded and explosive.
Record Hop | Bob White and the F Electrics | 2 MAI | The Demigs (Rubber Gloves) After receiving a shout out from Steve Albini on a message board, Record Hop starting acting like real assholes all over town, thinking their shit didn't stink. Just kidding. Seeing as how they are one of the most reliably good live rock bands in Denton, I'm interested to hear what some of this new recorded material sounds like on stage.
Bobgoblin | The Happy Bullets (Doublewide) Didn't Bobgoblin play music in the 90's? I thought I remembered seeing posters for them at places like Last Beat (the store) and CDX (the mid-cities) in like 95, or maybe they were on the Adventure Club way back before they started playing Christian Rock. I don't have time to figure out which. SUNDAY
Golden Boys | Strange Boys | Current Leaves | Stanton Meadowdale | AM Ramblers (Secret Headquarters) Pretty diverse bill here, and everything seems pretty solid to me. Hadn't heard these Golden Boys before, but I think they might be worth checking out. I wonder how the Strange Boys are enjoying Austin these days?
Bishop Allen is playing a Good Records in-store at 2pm.
Gravy Train | Sugar and Gold | Sticky Buns (Rubber Gloves) Gravy Train is annoying as shit, to the point where I know at least a small handful of people who read this blog are going to love them. Sticky Buns receives approval from both contingencies.
So after taking a quick look at some of the positively horrible nominees for this year's Dallas Observer music awards, we decided that we needed to put together the second annual We Shot J.R. Awards right away. We figured we could create a ballot that actually meant something to people, and hopefully, that is what we've done.
In my opinion, the thing that will make these awards matter to people is you guys, not us. Like it or not, it's clear that a lot of people who know a lot about music, think a lot about music and care a lot about music visit this site regularly, and I think this knowledge and good taste will be reflected in the voting results. Instead of a bunch of doucheholes going on the Observer website and voting for their friend's horrible rap metal band 1,000 times, I think we're going to get a lot of carefully considered votes from people who REALLY know what is going on in local music, and I think a lot of people who don't even read this site will at least be interested in what our readers end up voting for. We'll have a smaller number of votes than the Observer awards (obviously), but to me, one vote from one of our readers is worth ten votes from a 17 year old Burden Brothers fan.
Of course, ballot stuffing and things of that nature COULD happen with these awards, but we are going to be personally monitoring the results for the next three weeks to make sure that none of that happens. Feel free to vote for whoever you want whenever you want as many times as you want, but please note that ten votes in ten seconds for the same band in one category will be tossed out. Just use common sense and you'll be fine.
SO HERE IS HOW THIS WILL WORK: Like last year's vote, this will be a straight up popular vote, and anyone may vote as many times as they like. The band or artist or whatever with the most votes in each category will win, and that's it. When we announce the winners, we will also publish a list of our personal picks, just to give you an idea of how we voted. The categories probably aren't perfect, and you might feel that we left something out here or there, but we tried to cover as much ground as we could without going overboard. You may interpret our categories liberally: "band" can mean "solo performer," and "electronic" doesn't necessarily mean "laptop." Again, use common sense and you'll be fine. Voting will go for the next THREE WEEKS, ending on Friday, August 17th at 5pm. We'll announce the winners the following week, and an awards concert is in the works for mid to late August as well. Hope you guys have fun with this.
Tame Tame And Quiet | The Demigs | Dios Malos | Corto Maltese (The Cavern) Tame Tame And Quiet is probably one of the only bands that could get me out to The Cavern, as far as bands that would realistically play there. I don't know much about the other acts, but I've heard good things about The Demigs.
Wanz And Ineka (Fallout Lounge) His new mixtape has The Pop Group and I'm a fan. Do you like the Pop Group? They're kind of like The Rapture minus the irony.
Sorry this is late and lame, but it's still better than YOUR It list:
Strawberry Fieldsis doing the Short Attention Span Theatretonight at Hailey's. Some kind of Western theme is involved tonight, meaning they will show strange cowboy themed stuff I'm assuming. Usually fun.
Sally Glass has pictures from The Party's One Year Anniversary and Monday's Cool Out on her page. I usually hate those "funny" "vintage" t-shirts that dudes wear at stuff like this, but Select always manages to dig up a Garbage Pale Kids shirt or something that makes us laugh.
Voot Cha Index | Hardin Sweaty And The Ready To Go | Ryan Anderson | Fishboy (J & J's Pizza) A lineup worthy of a Friday night, especially if you're a pop fan. Good Records' child prodigies, Voot Cha Index, continue in a spate of shows before they all split into different post-summer directions, collegiate or otherwise. Ryan Anderson is a singer/songwriter from Austin with some pretty goofy lyrics and a very straightforward style. Eric from Fishboy is actually playing sans backing band tonight. Hardin Sweaty And The Ready To Go should have done the preview soundtrack to Dunston Checks In. I don't think that's an insult to a pop act. Oh, and this show is free and that's always cool.
Based on the admittedly small amount of research I've done on Jandek, I would venture to say that his show at Rose Marine Theater on Saturday night was one of the most structured and digestible performances he's given since his emergence from anonymity a couple years ago. This is not to say that the music wasn't strange, because it was; and it's also not as if Saturday was the first time he's ventured into the realm of more traditionally structured music, because it wasn't. It's just that the unique combination of musicians accompanying him on Saturday night helped to make his music sound quite different than most of the recorded Jandek material I've heard, and for the most part, this had the effect of bringing his vision closer to tangible, every day life than I imagined it ever could be.
Ok, let me explain. To me, Jandek's music brings to mind Sigmund Freud's initial conception of dreams and the unconscious. Particularly in his early material (with which I am most familiar), Jandek's method of writing, playing and recording music seemed to draw the listener into the dark, playful and often painful world of the unconscious through the dreamlike atmosphere of the material. Just as Freud believed that dreams were something of an open door into the unconscious, Jandek's music acts as a gateway to the darkest and most inexplicable spaces of the artist's mind, inviting you into a world of surrealist images, random thoughts and flowing, often structureless sounds that seem to be guided by anything but coherent rationality. Essentially, Jandek songs remind me of those last few moments before you fall asleep at night, as you slowly lose control of your thoughts while maintaining awareness of them as you drift off. And more than just about any other musician I can think of, it sounds, at least to me, that Jandek is trying to make some kind of direct presentation of his unconscious existence, turning songs and lyrics into bits and pieces of surreal dreamscapes as he invites the listener inside his mind.
What made Saturday so different was the pull between the aforementioned qualities of Jandek's music and the performances of Ryan Williams, Will Johnson, Ralph White and Susan Alcorn. Although the music they played was fairly abstract, formless and experimental by most standards, the elements of jazz, folk and country that were apparent throughout the set seemed to keep Jandek's vocal and harmonica performance grounded in waking life, not quite permitting him to go to the deeper, darker place he goes in much of his most striking recorded material. This might sound like a bad thing at first, but it was honestly quite intriguing. As the bits and pieces of more traditional American music faded in and out of the largely avant garde set, it became quite exciting to watch Jandek interact with a group of musicians that seemed to come together quite well despite having no idea what to expect. Although under most circumstances their performances would qualify as subtle and strange, with Jandek, the music often came across as bold and colorful, revealing ways in which his haunting vision could work in an entirely different musical context while honoring the abstract nature of his work. The backing musicians seemed to effectively challenge Jandek to work and interact with them, pulling his highly introverted style outwards while giving him the space he needed to remain in the personal zone he seems to invite us all into. These contradictions between the band and their leader created a tangible tension in the room that made his performance quite powerful despite the fact that he always maintained the detached and self involved persona that makes his music so intimate yet so foreign. It was as if the audience was being invited back into Jandek's house, just like we are on his records, only this time, he had friends over. And he wasn't exactly sure about them just yet.
Of course, I've probably heard less than 1/4 of his vast catalogue, and there very well could be many other instances of such interaction in Jandek's history (I'm aware that he has recorded with other people, for example). It's just that it was great to see him play live with complete strangers, participating in a give and take that I couldn't possibly have imagined the first time I heard his first album. And I'm sure that back when he was recording Ready for the House in 1978, he probably couldn't have imagined himself on a stage in Ft. Worth either, playing in front of a group of people that were happy to once again explore his mind.
We'll have some posts for you later this evening, but for now:
Cool Out (Cavern upstairs) Recently, a lot of people decided to start going out on Monday nights in Dallas, and I believe roughly 90% of them go to this.
Nux Vomica | Ippur | Akkolyte (1919 Hemphill) The Gonzalez brothers provide a guaranteed ass kicking in Ft. Worth with their grindcore outfit Akkolyte.
Goddamn it Friday night. Why do you have to let so many things happen tonight? Would it kill you to give one or two shows to Saturday night so that I don't have to make the Denton or Dallas decision again? I guess I could try to be one of those overly ambitious people who hits both cities in the same night, but I'm just too lazy for such things. Have you ever been carrying something, dropped it, and then kicked it the rest of the way because you were too lazy to bend over and pick it up? Yeah, I just did that. So obviously I'm not going to have the energy to go Zubar | House of Tinnitus | Fra House/Monkey Bar all in the same night. Oh well. I'll live. Here we go:
FRIDAY
The Party One Year Anniversary (Zubar) It's really hard to believe what a big deal these guys have become over the past year. Whether it's packing the Zubar for their monthly party, enticing the SMU kids to dance to that new house at Green Elephant, showing up at every party around town or bringing in critically acclaimed touring acts, these guys have been everywhere and done everything this year. And although some people might dismiss their fans as misguided fashionistas, The Party would be a success in any major cosmopolitan city in the world right now, and their sets lists are the proof. And you know what, it's pretty hard to not have a good time at these things, no matter who you are.
Dead Echoes Fest (House of Tinnitus) Another anniversary of sorts is happening here as House of Tinnitus hosts the second annual Dead Echoes drone fest. You can click on the Dead Echoes link above for the full line upset times, and Myspace links, but Sports, Shiny Around the Edges, Yellow Crystal Star, Mike McGuire and Shortwave Death System are the highlights in my mind, exposing the kind of musical diversity that most people don't seem to notice within what is popularly called "drone." Expect a friendly and enthusiastic crowd of people coming and going from a house that has really made a name for itself as a prestigious center for anything not-pop. Oh, and it's free.
Night Wounds | Modern History Duet | Red Faced Laughter (Fra House) Denton's other big show of the night is also a house show and also free. What do you think of that? Night Wounds sort of play a rhythm focused post-punk/hardcore thing that seems to draw inspiration from the likes of Fugazi, The Raincoats, the Slits and New York no-wave. Whitehouse,Tx band Red Faced Laughter sounds like a very good reason to show up around the official start time of 10pm, packing a punch with a similarly abstract but aggressive freak out peppered with a demonstrable sense of shoegaze-like atmosphere all over the place, sounding at times like a marriage between Slowdive and Extreme Animals. A really interesting band from a strange place. Those are usually good, aren't they?
The Wrens | Get Him Eat Him | Midgetmen (Hailey's) I'm not the biggest Wrens dude in the world, but I certainly respect them and enjoy their music whenever I happen to hear it.
Eat Avery's Bones | She-Dick | Prince William (Monkey Bar) Parade of Flesh put this thing together to celebrate one of their birthdays. It's too bad it's happening on the same night as the big Party event, but I bet it's fun. I'm just curious to see what Eat Avery's Bones are like at the damn Monkey Bar.
DMA Late Nights (Dallas Museum of Art) Tonight's DMALatenight sounds like one of the better ones they've had, with a focus on the "dawn of Modernism" that will feature a screening of Fritz Lang's Metropolis and lectures on Marcel Duchamp, as well as drinks and food and all the other stuff they usually have. Good times.
White Drugs are playing at Doublewidewith a couple bands I don't care about.
SATURDAY
Jandek (Rose Marine Theater-Ft. Worth) We've already talked this show up enough, but we should say that this very well could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this guy in person. Sounds like he'll have some great backing musicians as well.
Pre-New Sabbath Fest feat. Matthew and the Arrogant Sea | Fishboy | Ben Fleming | New Science Projects | Eli Brown | Daniel Folmer | Stanton Meadowdale | Sarah Reddington 6-12 (J&Js) As a preview to the exciting folk festival happening in August, stop by J&Js all afternoon to check out a variety of acts. As for the organizers, the dudes involved with Gashcat and Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, we'll have more on them early next week. I've gotta go, so I just linked to the bands I know off the top of my head. Sorry.
SUNDAY
Mothfight | Ghosthustler | Mom | Instruments (The Cavern) This Party Ends sponsored show has the makings for a good one: whether it's the spellbound electro-acoustic Mom, the strange electroindiepop of Mothfight or Ghosthustler, the only worthy recipient of the "new band" award in the Observer Music Awards, Party Ends is providing a good look at a lot of different sounds that are getting attention right now. And you know what? "Ride the White Horse" DOES sound like it could be a Ghosthustler song. Last time I checked, that was good.
After the initial excitement of learning that Jandek would be gracing the city of Ft. Worth with his presence this Saturday, July 21st at Rose Marine Theater, we started to wonder exactly what kind of show he was going to put on. My understanding of his live performance M.O. to this point is that he has traveled to different cities and played with a different group of musicians in each destination, focusing mostly on improv and avoiding all of his hit singles. For tomorrow's show, he'll be playing with some fairly well known Texas musicians: Will Johnson of Centro-matic (drums), Ryan Williams of Baptist Generals (bass), highly respected pedal steel player Susan Alcorn and long time Austin banjo player Ralph White.
Concert organizer and SXSW booker Craig Stewart tells us that the whole thing started in 2005 when he contacted Corwood Industries and asked if Jandek would be interested in playing his first Texas show in Austin. He agreed, played a show, and then contacted Stewart in 2007 to find out if he and his colleague Cathy Ross would be interested in booking a Jandek performance and concert film screening for SXSW. After Jandek's much talked about SXSW performance, Corwood once again reached out to Stewart and requested a show in Ft. Worth with Houston's Susan Alcorn. Once the booking details for the show were finalized, Stewart, Ross and fellow SXSW employee Tierney Stout put the rest of the musicians together in a collaboration with Corwood and created the Jandek in Ft. Worth Myspace page to promote it.
We sent out an email to each of these musicians and asked them a couple questions about the Jandek show and their thoughts on being asked to play it. Not everyone was able to get back to us, but we did manage to get some answers from Will Johnson and Susan Alcorn. Here they are:
What did you know of Jandek before you were asked to play this show? What did you think of his music?
(Will Johnson)I've followed along for some amount of years now, since the summer of '90. I picked up two jandek records down at waterloo in austin. My college friend quickly informed that there wasn't much more to learn about the person or people involved, outside of the very music i was holding in my hand that day, and that only heightened my curiosity. I guess i've bought about eight or nine more since then. At first it took a little while to get my head around the guitar playing, but i was immediately taken with the presentation and uniformity of the records, the sound of the recordings, the mysterious houston address, the voice and lyrics. iIve always felt like the method, dedication and perseverance of creating in this way is to be respected even if the music isn't really one's cup of tea. In talking to other folks that have followed along, after seeing the documentary and checking various websites, i've found that i know about as much now as i learned on that first day, and that's part of the beauty of Jandek. the definition is all the listener's own.
(Susan Alcorn) I must confess my ignorance. I had never heard of Jandek when I was approached to do this performance. The person who asked me seemed nice and I had that night open, so I accepted the gig.
How were you approached about the show, and what was your initial reaction to the invite?
(WJ) My bandmate (Matt Pence) was originally asked to do it. He seemed excited, but he knew i'd followed jandek for a while and was kind enough to pass the drumming duties along to me. my initial reaction was equal parts nervous and geeked. i was on an escalator in the Atlanta airport and immediately started to sweat it a little.
(SA) I was contacted by telephone. I think it was Craig who called, though I'm not sure. I was in the middle of a music project and had forgotten to write the information. Two days later I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I couldn't even remember Jandek's name and had forgotten about the concert when a friend telephoned me saying that he had read about it.
Have you had any contact with the representative from Corwood Industries? If so, could you describe it?
(WJ) No. No contact so far.
(SA) If Craig is a representative of Corwood Industries, then yes I have had contact. If you're referring to Jandek himself, we have not met.
What are you expecting on Saturday? Is there much of a plan as far as what will be played, how long it will be played, or any other details?
(WJ) I've heard of no plan as to what songs we're gonna do, or how we're gonna do them. I only know what time i'm supposed to be there and what instrument i'm supposed to play. That's where that excited/nervous chemical kicks in i guess.
(SA) I haven't the slightest idea what we'll be doing Saturday night except that the show starts at 7 PM. For me that is not unusual. As a musician, as an improviser, and as a human being, I feel it is important to think and act on the spot and to be real.
What kind of impact do you think Jandek's recent live performances have had on his overall mystique and image? Is it a good thing that he is finally playing live?
(WJ) I do think it's a good thing. I went to the show in austin a couple of years ago and walked away with another bundle of questions, and also the satisfaction of knowing i had finally heard the voice and seen the creator live. Every show appears to be very in the moment and with different musicians involved each time, and i think that's what makes each one its own unique event. Even as we now have the knowledge that the person playing live appears to be the same person that appears on the records, it feels like the mystique is moving on in a new way through these live shows.
(SA) As for the impact of Jandek and his mystique, I can't answer that. Is it a good thing that he's playing live? Well, he as a human being, just like you and me, if he wants to play live, then I think it's a good thing that he is playing. There are aspects of music, subtleties and nuances, that can only be shared and experienced live -- in the moment and in the same room.
Do you feel that you have anything in common with Jandek as a musician?
(WJ) Not really sure. Maybe i'll have a better idea about that after saturday night.
(SA) What I have in common with Jandek as a musician. From what little I have heard, I know that his music has an honesty and that he's communicating things that go beyond words and notes. I hope that, at times, I'm able to do the same.
