Blogs

Poor David's Pub just sent out word that it's the site for the first Barack Obama Dallas fundraiser hosted by the North Texas Democrats. The only word as of now is that The Ackermans will be performing and they are hoping for a phone-in from the potential presidential candidate. So before any Obama fans set up camp, just know now that he is not slated to attend. The fundraiser is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, December 12. -- Rich Lopez

Very, very sad news today, as Dallas has lost one of its greatest jazzers and finest people: Marchel Ivery. His wife confirms he died this morning at Presbyterian Hospital, just one day after checking in. He'd had a fever for two days and was diagnosed with pneumonia; he died around 11 this morning. His friends and family describe his death as nothing less than a "shock," as Ivery was in good health only a few days ago. He turned 69 on September 13.

"It's a tremendous loss," says Mark Elliott, who released three of Ivery's albums on his defunct Leaning House label. "Not only was he a great musician but he was a great person too. I'm gonna miss him." Elliott says he saw Ivery only a few weeks back, when the Texas tenor led an after-hours jam session with Wynton Marsalis, following Marsalis' September 19 performance at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

Ivery's wife says no funeral has yet been planned, but when it takes place it will be at Golden Gate Funeral Home. We will have more later in the day, including some of Ivery's music and reminiscences from his friends and colleagues. -- Robert Wilonsky

DC-9 photographer Jonathan Finley hit us up about a video he shot at this year's Dallas Observer Music Awards. It follows Black Tie Dynasty, who we recently interviewed, around the August event. Those who were happy to see the BTD piece will enjoy this vid; those who weren't so keen on it, um, just skip on to the next post. (We're giving away Smashing Pumpkins tix today. That's fun, right?) -- Chelsea Ide

We happen to have a pair of tickets to the Smashing Pumpkins show at Nokia on Saturday, Nov. 3. We love you guys, so we thought we'd share the wealth. I'm a Halloween nut, so we're having a little Halloween-themed contest. Below is a picture, compliments of a DC-9 friend, of a zombie lady. We want you to figure out what's she's doing. Write a caption for the photo, post it as a comment (make sure to include your e-mail so we can contact you), and come noon on Wednesday, we'll pick a favorite. Be clever, funny and gross. We're all about that. Oh, and the tickets come with club and parking passes. -- Chelsea Ide

Update: We've picked a winner. We can't resist jokes about the Trinity River, so J. McKenzie wins with this cutline:

Blue hair, pale skin, psychotic rage...she is obviously suffering from the effects of a swim in the Trinity River.

What follows are several items we overheard whilst spending a good part of the pre-Halloween weekend trolling the streets in search of spirits, of both the goblet and goblin variety:

“Dude, you know why I’m wearing this costume? Because I fucking hate emo, that’s why.”

“Vietnam! Yeah! Vietnam!”

“Have you ever taken a shit so big, your pants fit better?”

“I paid fucking nine dollars for a piece of pie down the street one time. Nine dollars!! Fuck those guys!”

-- Jonanna Widner

Big ups to the big man on the Observer campus, Robert Wilonsky, for pointing out that the November issue of Spin magazine, which hits newsstand tomorrow, has a meaty little review of Midlake’s recent Chicago show. The article’s author, Josh Modell, does a fine job of describing the Denton band’s precise balance between ’70s AOR-soft rock and contemporary, “intangibly current,” mood music. Overall the article raves (with good reason, we think) about Midlake’s oeuvre, and by the end Modell suggests even brighter things might be around the corner for our local boys: “They’re riding a wave of acceptance that could lead to Wilco-like slow-burn success,” he says. -– Jonanna Widner

Before the carving...

Smiling, frowning, laughing and crying, the lanterns sat in piles and in long lines that surrounding every bit of the park. And at a steady rate, more and more children covered in seeds and pumpkin entrails would waddle up with freshly hewn lanterns ready to add to the growing multitude.

In the heart of Dallas, with the Central Expressway roaring a few yards away, stepping onto the hay-covered ground at the Dallas Pumpkin Fest was like stumbling upon a celebration from another century. Scarecrows hung from posts along a fence, and children scrambled to build more, stuffing hay into old pants and shirts. There were no flat screen monitors or video games. There were no go-karts or even flashing lights. Instead there were simple beanbag tosses and gourd-bowling games. The kids bolted around with excitement nonetheless, stopping every now and again to pet the carousing goats and stuff their faces with turkey legs, sausages on a stick and other carnival-style eats.

More

Once again, we're helping you relive the weekend in an effort to make Monday that much more bearable.

1. Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans

Crossing the state line was worth it this weekend to catch the killer bands on this festival's bill. We particularly enjoyed seeing Mute Math's (pictured) hometown performance and getting a glimpse of what the Smashing Pumpkins and Coheed and Cambria will be like when the bands come to Dallas in November.

2. Beard-a-fit at Club Dada

We would be remiss if we didn't say this was a show no one should have missed. Not only was the Saturday show's lineup outstanding (Shanghai 5, Backsliders), but it raised funds to help out a Deep Ellum icon. We hope you hit up the show.

3. College Watch Party at Victory Park

We're sick of watching football at our house. Sure, our TV is cool. Sure, we like our friends. We just wanted to get to watch the game with a lot of people, and we're broke, so tickets just don't happen. Luckily, the folks at Victory Park blast the game on those big screens in AT&T Plaza. We and a bunch of Texas fans (OK, there were also a handful of Nebraska fans) hit up the plaza this Saturday.

4. Walk & Wag at White Rock Lake

Early morning exercise is no reason to get excited, except this time it's a charity walk where your dog is invited. Oh, and there are costume contests -- even for the pup. DC-9 staff is a bunch of dog lovers. Those who feel similarly can ooo and ahh at our photos.

5. The Secret Handshake at House of Blues

The Dallas indie-electronic one-man band can't be stopped. The Secret Handshake -- a.k.a. Luis Dubas -- swoons the younger ladies with his tales of heartbreak and angst-touched need for change. We've been trying to catch up with the guy for a Q&A. We'll keep you posted.

White Ghost Shivers, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Boxcar Bandits
9 p.m., Friday, October 26. The Aardvark, 2905 W. Berry St., Fort Worth. $10-$12.

The only band with the word “Whiskey” in its name that’s worth a damn, the Whiskey Folk Ramblers make music that befits their moniker. Both rootsy and tootsy, this crew makes music for amblin’ on down a dusty road, buzzed from rotgut and smiling away. If the Grapes of Wrath had a happy ending, WFR would have written the soundtrack.

Fotophonic Halloween with White Drugs and Happy Bullets
10 p.m., Saturday, October 27. 1400 Main St. (at Haskell). $3.

White Drugs feel like someone is spraying a flamethrower through your parietal lobe. After interaction with White Drugs, your face will feel numb, your arms gooey, your brain flattened by a barrage of the best beyond-punk North Texas has to offer. White Drugs are sometimes criticized for being derivative. So fucking what? White Drugs will kill you.

Beard-a-fit with David Garza, Mr. Pink, Shanghai 5, Hard Night's Day, Enormous Magic Verb, Frush, Airline, The Backsliders, Brave Combo
1 p.m., Sunday, October 28. Club Dada. $10 (goes to Beard’s medical bills).

More

Out of Sync, the new memoir from former ‘N Sync member, failed cosmonaut and gay American Lance Bass, comes out on October 23. (It’s surprisingly good.) Over the phone from New York – where he’s living while starring in Broadway musical Hairspray as Corny Collins -- and speaking in a slight Southern twang, he was very congenial. We talked about his critical words for Justin Timberlake in the book (he felt “completely betrayed” when JT broke up the band for a solo career), coming out and dating the actress who played Topanga on Boy Meets World.

You’re said to be a very private person. Was it hard to spill for the book?

It started out being really hard. Last year was a real confusing year for me, just because when I did decide to make it public that I was gay, it was very scary, because I didn’t know what the reaction was going to be. But, because the reaction was so positive and I got so much support I’ve been the happiest person ever. That’s when I decided to write this book. I wanted to show how proud I am that now, in 2007, people are just so much more accepting than they were years ago.

Are you worried that the media is focusing on your relatively brief critique of Justin Timberlake?

Well, of course. That was my biggest concern. I didn’t write the book to talk about the breakup of ‘N Sync, but the story had to be said. I couldn’t just skip over it, because people would be like, ‘Are you kidding me? We’ve been asking that question for how many years, and you’re just going to skip over it?’ So, I had to tell the story like it was, and I had to share my emotions. So, when I talk about that time in Miami when Justin told us he didn’t want to do it anymore, I wanted people to feel what I felt at that time. And it did feel like betrayal. I felt heartbroken. All these emotions went through me. Today, I’m really happy, and Justin and I are really great friends. I don’t hate him at all. And I understand what he was going through, and it was as hard for him as it was for any of us.

More

Maybe it was the (finally) crisp autumn air or the fact that Faces of DEF was held at the Double Wide (decked in full Halloween splendor), but something in the atmosphere let me know that this show was worth coming out. At 10 p.m. it was still quiet as hip hop patrons slowly dredged over to Double Wide from the Green Elephant’s lyricist battle. Bored, I tried unsuccessfully to score a Red Bull. Things were off to a slow start, but the evening’s host Free Will, aided by DJ Quick Chris and DJ Tape Master, set the scene for what was to come. By 11 p.m. Will introduced the small crowd to the lineup of Sivion, T-Wrex, MEGA, Cooley Fly, Subchronicles and Swishaman. Half-hyping, half-begging, he urged people to come to the stage from the patio and show the rappers some respect.

Austin's Cooley Fly was up first. This was my introduction to Cooley, and it was a good one. I felt his introspective, mid-tempo flow. He went from two East Coast-flavored joints to the Southern bounce of “Old School to New School,” a song that would have easily fit in with current mainstream radio.

More

The indie popsters in Hot Hot Heat took over the Granada Theater stage Wednesday night. We were thoroughly impressed by the Canadian quartet and openers Bedouin Soundclash and De Novo Dahl. Our photographer Travis Awalt snapped pictures so you can feel like you were there. -- Chelsea Ide

OK, our bad. We may be about six hours late getting you cheap concert ticket info, but hey, you still have six more hours to take advantage of it.

For you country music fans, AEG Live sent out word that today only, tickets for the CMT on Tour show with Sugarland, Little Big Town and Jake Owen are going for $20 and the special promotion run will be until 10 p.m. tonight. Tickets can be ordered by phone (2140373-8000) or online. Just don’t get greedy. Tickets are limited to eight per order and in select seats. But at Nokia, I’m not sure what that means. The show is Saturday, November 10, at 8 p.m. -- Rich Lopez

Welcome to the first-ever weekly installment of the Laughcast, your complete stand-up comedy forecast for the upcoming week. This week, a surprise gust of hilarity is blowing through Uptown and Oak Cliff, while a consistent cloud of funny persists in Tarrant County throughout the weekend. Sunday, there's a 20 percent chance of funny and 100 percent chance of breasts—read on to find out just what I mean.

Thursday: The first-ever "Sweet Night Of Comedy" at the Xocolatl Room is at 2817 Howell in Uptown, near the Quadrangle and some people with unusually deep tans for the month of October. Beautiful people need laughs, too! Ten bucks gets you laughs and the opportunity to avail yourself of an all-you-can-slurp chocolate fountain. Featuring these awesome comics, plus me: Lucas Bailey, Jeremy Procter-Smith, Johnny Elbow, Dustin Ybarra, Adam Shumate and Shaun Arredondo. Show's at 8 p.m.

Thursday: If Uptown's not your cup of dirty martini, hit up La Calle Doce in Oak Cliff. Cheap margaritas, plus Josh Weatherspoon, Brian Breckenridge, Anthony Perez, Sherry Belle, Peter Barrera and his wunderkidcomic Josh, Waylon Haselhorst and headliner Aaron Aryanpur. Show's at 8 p.m.

More

Cheapwads unite! Rent's due soon and Mavs tickets cost money, so it's time to skimp other places. What follows are suggestions for keeping your music expenses down and your endorphins up.

Wolff
6 p.m., Monday, October 29. Good Records, 1808 Greenville Ave. Free

Well, shit, since rock is taking a hiatus, we might as well enjoy what the less straightforward world of music has to offer. Enter Wolff, formerly of Drums & Tuba, now going his own way as just... a tuba. OK, not just tuba--there's also snippets of glitch and piles of brass interweaving to make a hypnotic mix of electronica and more traditional instrumentation. Don't expect big band or jazz, mind you, this is dirge-y, thoughtful stuff; as if Peter Murphy had been in his school marching band. For this in-store, Wolff will perform it all, by the way, solely using a tuba.

Mom, Florene, Mistress, Fizzy Dino Bop, Sticky Buns
9 p.m., Wednesday, October 31. Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio, 411 E. Sycamore St., Denton. Free with costume, $5 without.

There are those who want to take weird drugs and dance all night on Halloween, and then there are those who want to listen to music that makes them feel like they've taken weird drugs. RGRS's Halloween Party will suit the latter. Headliner Mom is (currently) the most "buzzy" of this lineup, but the undercard is full of sleepers. Florene, for example, serves up a bubbling brew made of fermented computer-generated ambiance and shimmering synth-y non-songs. Fizzy Dino Pop, meantime, lurches way over to the other end of the electronica spectrum, all simplistic, hasty, overwrought beats, screeched vocals and bleeping video game hooks.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead
7 p.m., Friday, October 26. Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio, 411 E. Sycamore St., Denton. $12-$14.

OK, OK, 12 bucks ain't nothin' to sneeze at, but Trail of the Dead is a must-see for those who have not had the odd pleasure of catching them live. The Austin group is known for onstage shenanigans such as being general assholes and breaking shit, but they also churn out some of the most beautiful postmodern rock bombast known to man. -- Jonanna Widner