The Octopus Project,This Will Destroy You, UmeGranada TheaterMay 23, 2009Better Than: Watching three exuberant non-Texas bands trying to have some fun on a Saturday night Three Texas bands delivered well-crafted, wildly diverse music to an appreciative audience at the Granada on Saturday night. Opener Ume provided a tight set of…
Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s, Telekinesis, and Everything, Now!Hailey’s Club, Denton May 22, 2009Better than: Sitting at home trying to come up with a more ridiculous band name than Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s. There’s a popular old saying, “Less is more.” On Friday night at…
Flock of Seagulls, When in Rome, Gene Loves Jezebel, Dramarama The House of BluesMay 22, 2009(Just Barely) Better Than: Starring in my own reality show called Dancing with the MILFs. Advertised as “Lost ’80s Live,” the quadruple bill sponsored by a local radio station attracted a decent-sized crowd to the…
The Dears, Great Northern, EulogiesHailey’s Club, DentonMay 16, 2009Better than: a bill featuring The Dear Hunter along with The Dear and the Departed. For The Dears’ first show in Denton, it was rather surprising to see Hailey’s far from capacity. Blame this on the fact that UNT was out of…
Old Crow Medicine Show, Justin Townes EarleGranada TheaterMay 6, 2009 Better than: Drinkin’ your corn liquor and lettin’ cocaine be. From the time the crowd started arriving at the Granada it was apparent that Old Crow Medicine Show was the place to be: If it wasn’t apparent by the crowd…
Snoop Dogg with Johnny Ringo & the Hustle BoyzHouse of BluesMay 5, 2009Better than: Rollin’ down the street smoking Indo, sippin’ on gin and juice. Four words: This show was packed. Usually, you find scalpers trying to sell tickets outside of venues. Not here. Guys were zipping around trying to…
CAKE Palladium Ballroom April 30, 2009 Better Than: The upcoming great food shortage After starting the show with “Short Skirt, Long Jacket,” CAKE singer John McCrea greeted the audience.McCrea: “Is anybody here sick tonight?” Crowd: Affirmative cheers from the back of the room.McCrea: “You guys are a bunch of assholes.”…
Fleetwood MacAmerican Airlines CenterApril 30, 2009Better Than: Seeing a Fleetwood Mac cover band at an AARP Convention. Seemingly every MILF in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area made their way to the American Airlines Center last night to catch a truncated (but still powerful) version of Fleetwood Mac. The legendary rock…
Gaslight Anthem with Heartless BastardsGranada TheaterApril 28, 2009Better Than: Watching an anti-climatic basketball playoff. The Granada played host to brawny rock last night as the Heartless Bastards and headliner Gaslight Anthem played to a testosterone-rich crowd. In sets that were long on music and short on charisma, both bands played…
Mates of State, Black Kids, Sunbears!Granada TheaterApril 27, 2009Better Than: Getting dropped on your head in a failed crowd surfing attempt. Fans didn’t let the dreary weather–or the fact that it was a Monday–stop them from packing the Granada last night, and the largely underage crowd was handsomely rewarded by…
Better Than: Staying at home and watching the Dallas Cowboys trade away their only Day One draft pick. There were three bands on the bill, but the night belonged completely to garage rock duo The Kills on Saturday at the Granada. And, it must be noted, the opening acts did…
Dr. Dog, The Cave SingersLone Star Room at the Palladium/Gilley’s Industrial ComplexApril 23, 2009Better Than: The Pennywise/Pepper show going on at the Palladium last night, which I thankfully saw zero seconds of. Lindsey Moffitt Fans arriving at the Loft for last night’s Dr. Dog show were instead directed to head…
My Bloody Valentine Palladium BallroomApril 22, 2009Update, 4/27/09: Link to bootleg recording of show and set list after the jump.Better than: Standing in the exhaust path of a booster rocket, surviving an earthquake, sharing some communal mass hallucination, or any other comparison my exhausted brain could come up with. Right…
Spent all day Saturday (well, for the most part) at Good Records for the store’s combined 9th Birthday Bash and National Record Store Day Celebration. And, given the at-times cool and at-times brutally humid weather, that kind of marathon was something of a beating. A fun beating, but a beating…
Dan Deacon & EnsembleThe Modern Art Museum of Fort WorthApril 18, 2009 Better than: having to make the tough decisions, like: Do I spend the night looking at paintings, or go out to a show? Do I flip out dancing with my white T-shirt pulled over my head, or with…
[Editor’s note: This review was penned by our newest Observer/DC9 contributor, Eric Grubbs.] Mark Olson and Gary LourisSons of Hermann HallApril 17, 2009 Better Than: wondering if Ryan Adams and Caitlin Cary could successfully do a reunion record and tour. The average age of the crowd was well over thirty as Mark Olson…
Electric SixThe Boiler Room, DentonApril 16, 2009Better than: the lame-ass excuses given by my friends found not to join me. You know who you are. Download: Check out our slideshow from last night’s show.Six years and a couple hilarious music videos later, Electric Six still rides on the head of…
Brian Jonestown Massacre, Flavor CrystalsGranada TheaterApril 13, 2009Better Than: attending a seance while rolling on ecstasy. If you noticed the bank of candles that greeted you as you walked through the Granada’s double doors from the foyer into the theater, you could tell last night’s show wasn’t going to be…
MorrisseyPalladium BallroomFriday, April 10, 2009 Better Than: Watching 24 Hour Party People that you have recorded on your DVR. Check out more photos in our slideshow.The crowd that showed up for Morrissey last night at the Palladium served as a tribute to the longevity of the man’s career. People from every age…
Great Lake Swimmers, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Kate MakiHailey’s Club, DentonApril 8, 2009Better Than: Checking out the Lost recap on AV Club right after the show is over.When Tony Dekker and his fellow Great Lake Swimmers came out on stage at Hailey’s last night, there wasn’t a “Hello” or…
New Found Glory The Loft (Palladium) Gilley’s April 6, 2009Better Than: Being one of those poor suckers who got their glasses smashed off by 250lb. hardcore dancers with flailing fists. Hey, it happened. Twice.Last night’s New Found Glory show was scheduled to take place in the Palladium’s Loft. Based on…
[Didn’t get around to doing a Last Night review of the Leonard Cohen show over the weekend, but I’d be remiss to let the day go by without recapping it to some extent. So here goes…]Leonard CohenNokia Theatre, Grand PrairieApril 3, 2009Better than: Pretty much anything.In total, Leonard Cohen treated…
