Last Night: Cake at the Palladium Ballroom

CakePalladium BallroomDecember 30, 2010 Better than (eventually): The insane traffic that was backed up from the venue, all the way down Lamar, down the ramp and onto freaking I-30. Cake has it figured out. For the uninitiated: The California-based nerdy rock outfit managed to not only blow up into big…

Last Night: The Adolescents at The Loft

The Adolescents, Lower Class Brats and The ScandalsThe LoftDecember 29, 2010Better than: Staying home and watching Sid and Nancy. A surprisingly large collection of Dallas’ unwashed and unwanted gathered together at The Loft last night to witness a fine triple-bill of old-school punk rock.Headlining was The Adolescents, a semi-legendary hardcore…

Presenting: Our New Commenting System, Disqus.

Ladies and gents, you may have noticed: We have a new commenting system. Sure, we’re going to miss the hell out of Captcha’s bizarre word combinations, and that hypnotic voice to soothe you with phrases like “booger humans” or “gladly tectonic.” Today, we got something we think is more interesting:…

Night Moves: Starck Club Reopens as Zouk! Plus: Diddy!

A couple of weeks ago on Unfair Park, Robert mentioned that the former Starck Club was set to reopen as Zouk. (It has a Facebook page and everything!) Sure enough, this weekend marked Zouk’s Grand Opening with — as you can see from the above photo — Diddy and his…

Last Night: Wu-Tang Clan At The Granada Theater

Wu-Tang Clan; La the Darkman; A.Dd+ with Picnictyme, DJ Sober and Sore Losers; Rob Viktum and Jay ClippGranada TheaterFriday, December 10, 2010Better Than: Even the most optimistic fan could expect a hip-hop clusterfuck with AWOL members and a late start to be. To say there was reason to be skeptical…

Over The Weekend: A Spune Christmas! at Hailey’s in Denton

Telegraph Canyon, Doug Burr, Seryn, Monahans, Birds & Batteries, Glen FarrisHailey’s Club, DentonDecember 4, 2010Better than: paying for your own wassail. The folks at Spune have not only established themselves as a leading local label and promotion company. They’ve also become quite the hosts. Every few months, the company puts…

Over The Weekend: Justin Townes Earle at the Granada Theater

Justin Townes Earle, Caitlin Rose, The O’sGranada TheaterDecember 3, 2010Better than: seeing a washed up, crappy honky tonk wannabe band in some two-bit bar. There’s a concept in the Orthodox Church that says, when you enter a worship service, you step outside of time into an eternal “now.” There’s no…

Last Night: Chiddy Bang, Vonnegutt at Trees

Chiddy Bang, Vonnegutt TreesDecember 2, 2010Better than: going to an actual SMU party. Lest there remained any question as to whom the music of Chiddy Bang is meant for, the Philadelphia-based, indie rock-sampling hip-hop duo provided the answer at Trees last night.Or maybe it’s more appropriate to say that their…

Last Night: El DeBarge, Eric Benét, and Fantasia at the Verizon Theatre

El DeBarge, Eric Benét, FantasiaVerizon TheatreDecember 2, 2010Better than: being bilked out of one’s hard-earned cash by fraudulent Christian faith healer Jonas Nightengale during one of his big tent revival meetings…   A few times a year, I find it both incredibly enlightening and immensely entertaining to pick a show to attend…

Night Moves: Pre-Thanksgiving Parties! At Plush and Aura

Some of you saved the relaxing and movie-watching for Thursday’s Thanksgiving feast-a-thon. It was certainly true at Plush and Aura, where Pre-Thanksgiving parties on Wednesday were the dance-ticket for Uptowners and Dallas-ites looking for good time before a restful Turkey Day (we hope). Jump over to Roderick Pullum’s slideshows to…

Last Night: Nitzer Ebb at the Granada Theater

Nitzer Ebb, //TENSE// Granada Theater November 23, 2010 Better Than: stomping the night away at the Lizard Lounge. With the strobe light pulsing around him and his bandmates furiously pounding the drums behind him, Nitzer Ebb’s lead vocalist Douglas McCarthy’s body convulsed like a man being electrocuted. The crowd danced,…

Last Night: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin at House of Blues

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin House of Blues Cambridge Room November 23, 2010 Better Than: Watching old clips of Boris Yeltsin. When I walked into the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues to see Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, two things were immediately obvious: there weren’t a…

Over The Weekend: The Flatlanders at Sons of Hermann Hall

Better than: Seeing the Flatlanders at the Wyly or the Granada, where they’ve played their last two shows. The ballroom at the Sons of Hermann Hall is their natural element, as dusty and real as the colorful West Texas characters that populate the band’s best songs. The silver-haired hippies that…