After forming in 1992, Tabula Rasa took Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton by storm, tidily earning “Best New Act” from the Dallas Observer in 1993. And then, as quickly as Deep Ellum’s Green Room dubbed its signature cheese pizza “The Tabula Rasa,” they disbanded in 1994. Members Ezra Boggs, Stephen…
When I first saw Lightning Bolt in a dingy club in Brooklyn a decade ago, I did not foresee the Providence duo still being around in 2012. Not that they weren’t good enough: That performance, in which drummer Brian Chippendale and bassist Brian Gibson set up on the floor and…
L.A. seems to be in the throes of a full-scale weed jam explosion, both in aesthetic and sound. Singer-guitarist Colleen Green doesn’t seem to care how much you know she’s influenced by The Ramones — she even has a song called “I Wanna Be Degraded” — or that there’s a…
Willie Nelson made a triumphant return to Dallas last night at House of Blues, and we were able to stop holding our collective breathe over his weekend health scare. We couldn’t handle him and Phyllis Diller in the same week…
These United States hit Lola’s on Friday with locals Jacob Furr & the Lonely Road and Nicholas Altobelli. The NYC group released a collaboration-heavy self-titled album earlier in the summer, lending a big-band feel to their roots rock. Frontman Jesse Elliott talked with us about playing Dallas, the first These…
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about dive bars, that sub-sect of watering hole fiercely guarded by established regulars. The type of place where the bartender and waitress know 90% of their customer’s names and take the time to invest in conversation past the precursory friendly pre-drink banter. I decided…
See also: The fans of Iron Maiden Iron Maiden, Coheed and Cambria Gexa Energy Pavilion Friday, August 17 Talking to a number of people who saw Iron Maiden’s last show back in June 2010, the common complaint was too many new songs and not enough old songs. The six-piece gave…
Fang Island, Adebisi Shank, Spacebeach Dada Thursday, August 16 It was West Nile aerial spraying night, so my wife warned me not to go out, but I was rewarded with one of the best shows of the year. As planes buzzed above, the band joked about the situation. “I guess…
Mixing progressive rock with power pop isn’t easy and certainly doesn’t sound like a workable combination. However, Brooklyn’s Fang Island not only make it work, they do so with flair to spare. The band’s recently issued sophomore effort on Sargeant House, Major somehow manages to bridge the gap between Pink…
With cassette culture invading the mainstream these days, seems like every artist has an angle to preserve and champion what many see as a fossilized art form. Arizona DJ Ruthless Ramsey, however, has been obsessed with cassettes since he was rocking single digits. Touted as the world’s “only cassette mixologist,”…
Speaking of cassette culture, local trio Blackstone Rangers just released their five-song EP, Into the Sea, on tape via Dallas Distortion Music. It’s actually the perfect medium for their distorto-pop, and since their first run of tapes sold out, this show will have a second-run “red” cassette up for sale…
Chicago house music totem Derrick Carter has had the sort of longevity not many DJs enjoy, influencing and structuring scenes throughout the U.S. and across the pond as well since the late ’80s. And, as It’ll Do has become an East Dallas outpost for house music, having a titan like…
Maybach Music Group poet Stalley’s newest mixtape, Savage Journey to the American Dream, features a Hollywood Squares-type roster of cameos: Rick Ross, Curren$y, 2 Chainz, Wale. It’s also one of those hip-hop albums that feels very much a product of modern politics/geography/ideology, his introspective lyrics bumping up against dreamy, surreal…
The GrandMothers of Invention, The Tidbits The Kessler Theater Tuesday, August 14 Tuesday night, a storm brought much-needed rain to the Metromess, and a van brought the GrandMothers of Invention to the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff for two sets of impeccably-performed music from the Frank Zappa canon. After soundchecking,…
Coheed and Cambria comes back to Dallas on Friday, previewing material from their forthcoming double album, The Afterman, and supporting metal legends Iron Maiden. Drummer Josh Eppard took some time to share his love of the New York Mets, his experience as an Iron Maiden fan, and what it was…
Christopher VictorioStevie Wonder at Outside Lands.The following is a dispatch from Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, from our sister paper, SF Weekly. Stevie Wonder, in theory, is an American artistic treasure. He’s more than our Beatles or Rolling Stones; he’s our Dickens or Dalí: a figure of impassable recognition,…
Identity Festival Gexa Energy Pavilion Friday, August 10 See also: The fans of Identity Festival, parts one and two See also: Eric Prydz on Swedish techno, the future of dance music I think the Observer sent me to this in hopes I would feel as out of my element as…
Christopher VictorioMetallica at San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival.METALLICA @ OUTSIDE LANDS FESTIVAL | 8/11/12 The following is a dispatch from Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, from our sister paper, SF Weekly. Metallica, headlining Saturday night of the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, proved just about…
Christopher VictorioNeil Young and Crazy Horse at the Outside Lands festival.The following is a dispatch from Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, from our sister paper, SF Weekly. While he’s putting everything into a solo, Neil Young’s face looks like his electric guitar sounds: flush with feeling, vaguely threatening, and…
Rick Ross Zouk Thursday, August 9 Celebrating the release of his God Forgives, I Don’t album Thursday night, the big boss Ricky Ross made his way to mega-club Zouk in style, putting on a performance that rumbled the outermost walls of the venue as loud as his signature grunts rattle…
The Smoker’s Club Tour/Aesop Rock Trees/The Granada Theater Thursday, August 9 Last night was a hard night for a hip-hop fan in Dallas. The Smoker’s Club Tour had favorites like Juicy J and next big things Smoke DZA and Joey Bada$$ at Trees. Aesop Rock was bringing his flavor back…
Artist, photographer and videographer Hal Samples has helped document, promote, inspire and nurture up-and-coming talent in the community for nearly a decade. So, when he needed help, it was no surprise local bands and artists pulled together for a benefit show. Seems Samples has fallen on some hard times in…
