​You know how the old proverb goes: There's no such thing as a free taco. However, tonight Spune is hoping to prove that adage wrong with like their 97th annual A Spune Christmas. (Spune owner Lance Yocom is a lot older than he looks.) There will even be free beer on hand while supplies last. Still, free is a relative term. It costs $13 to get in, but there are plenty of things to hold your attention.

Other than the free booze and traditional Christmas Mexican food, there is good reason to attend this show. Telegraph Canyon, Air Review, Datahowler, Fox & The Bird, Bethan, and brilliant unknown talent Carlo Canlas provide the soundtrack for the entire night on alternating stages.

The folks at Spune have been nice enough to pass along two pairs of tickets and a couple screen printed posters to two lucky DC9 at Night readers. Hit the jump to find out how to win.

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You can't dig too deep into the North Texas music scene without hearing the name Centro-Matic. The band's prolific lead singer, Will Johnson, has saturated the last decade with releases from Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel, as well as a few solo releases of his own.

Tomorrow night's show comes at the end of one of the band's biggest years, which saw the release of Candidate Waltz, one of their best efforts to date. And, though it won't be their last local concert of the year -- they'll be opening for Polyphonic Spree's New Year's Eve Show at House Of Blues -- it'll be the last chance to see them in the intimate confines of a place like Dada.

The folks at Dada have been nice enough to pass along a pair of tickets to give away to a lucky DC9 reader. Hit the jump to find out how to win.

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The mall punk scene is still going strong here in Dallas, and Saturday, December 10, marks the fourth annual Unsilent Night Music Festival, put on by ZH Entertainment and Third String Productions.

Anyone who has been to any of these mall punk shows in recent years knows  that they are not small affairs. This one will take place at Fair Park's Centennial Hall and will feature performances from over thirty pop-punk and emo acts, and bands from all other subsequent sub-genres. There might even be a crab-core act on hand. But if you're so over music being categorized and you just want to see some good, angsty bands, they've got 'em.

All Time Low will headline the thing, and there also will be performances from Forever The Sickest Kids, Attack Attack, The Rocket Summer and more.

The folks over at ZH Entertainment have been nice enough to send over a set of VIP tickets, which includes early entry, a free T-shirt, free admission to the afterparty at Prophet Bar, and access to the Prekindle VIP Lounge. Not too shabby. And, we're going to pass them onto one lucky DC9 reader. Hit the jump to find out how to win.
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​Got some Dallas Observer Music Awards Showcase details to pass along to you this morning.

For starters, the updated schedule of performers can be found here, and you can read up on all 52 acts playing this deal on Saturday right here. Might as well check out an oral history of the past 25 years of Dallas music and Deep Ellum (featuring quotes from the Toadies, Old 97's, Centro-matic, Sarah Jaffe and Erykah Badu) here while you're at it.

On top of all that, we've added another treat: As part of our showcase, we'll be hosting a silent disco in the upstairs portion of Trees. DJ Sober and Yeahdef will be running this deal, wherein you'll be given a set of headphones to rock out to their stylings. Should be a good time.

So, yes, be sure to get your tickets now while they're still $15 a pop so you can guarantee your way in on the cheap.

Or, well, if you're just a lucky person, you can win your way in. That's right: We've got four pairs of VIP tickets to the showcase to hand out to a few lucky readers today. VIP access includes a special, shaded and seated viewing area for the outdoor stage (with VIP bathrooms, even), plus two complimentary drinks and some complimentary food. A $40 value, which you can go ahead and purchase here. Or you can hit the jump and find out how to win you a pair free of charge.

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​As you no doubt recall, the Fort Worth Music Festival (nee Jazz by the Boulevard) kicks off tonight in Cowtown with something of a new vendetta at play.

The festival, while still pandering somewhat to its jazz roots, will this year expand to include more a rock and indie rock bent, courtesy of Meat Puppets, Dawes and Lucero. There's also a significantly larger share of local rock outfits taking part in the festivities. Among those locals performing at this year's semi-inaugural affair at the Will Rogers Memorial Center: Telegraph Canyon, Seryn, The Orbans, Calhoun, Whiskey Folk Ramblers and Quaker City Night Hawks, not bad, not bad.

Even better: Courtesy of the folks behind the festival, we've got two free pairs of VIP passes to the event to hand out to some lucky DC9 readers. Want in? You got it. Just hit the jump to find out how you can enter.

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​By now, you should know a lot about the 2011 Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. There's the fact that the Austin fest will take place this year on November 4, 5 and 6. Also: That it's moved out of Waterloo Park and over to the bigger Auditorium Shoes. And Slayer will be there. Spoon, too. Public Enemy as well. Even a few locals: Neon Indian, Mind Spiders and Best Fwends.

Check out the full bill here. It's impressive.

Then hit the jump. Because you'll find something pretty awesome there -- like, say, details on how to win a free three-day pass to this year's festivities, courtesy of the folks behind the event at Transmission Entertainment.

Specifically that, actually.

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​Oh, and speaking of Warped Tour, which is kicking off right about now, actually: Quite the unexpected surprise this morning, courtesy of the folks at Gexa Energy Pavilion, who just passed our way three pairs of tickets to in turn pass your way for today's first-day-of-tour events down in Fair Park.

So, if you're feeling the weekend's-almost-here blues, you want to get out of the office (or just off of the couch, you lucky, lucky kids on summer vacation) and you are indeed kicking yourself for missing last night's festivities at the Double Wide, well, we've got your back.

How to win these passes? Actually, that's incredibly easy. Hit the jump and we'll spill all the deets.

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Kevin Todora

The scene at Girl Talk's last show in Dallas.

​Mashup artist Girl Talk is known for putting on one heck of a show. So, yeah, the lucky few who managed to score tickets his sold-out show tomorrow night at the Granada Theater -- all tickets for the event were scooped up less than an hour after going on sale -- look like they're in for a treat.

For the uninitiated: Girl Talk (government name: Gregg Gillis) is a master of the remix, blending pre-recorded samples, often gleaned from instantly identifiable pop songs spanning genres and decades, into his own infectious jams.

Meanwhile, his opening act on this night, the Chicago-based hip-hop buzz act The Cool Kids, are similarly known for their own entertaining live shows. Last year, the duo performed at our Dallas Observer Music Awards showcase. Tomorrow night's show finds the band promoting their long-await propre full-length debut, which is scheduled for a July 12 release.

The show is cleverly sponsored by 7-Eleven, whose U.S. offices are headquartered in Dallas. As part of their Slurpee Mixmaker promotion, 7-Eleven offered tickets for the clever and super-cheap price of $7.11 apiece. No wonder tickets went so fast, leaving so many out of luck.

Till now, that is. Thanks to the folks at 7-Eleven, we've got one last pair of these highly coveted tickets on our hands -- tickets that, because we love you guys, we're going to turn around and pass along your way. Want the tickets? Click on the jump to find out how to win.

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There are a lot of different things one could say about of Montreal -- like, say, for starters, that the band isn't from Montreal at all, but from Athenes, Georgia.

Furthermore, trying to pin a genre on them is a challenge; they've flip-flopped between a multitude of different sounds over the past 15 years, touching on everything from twee pop to indie rock, funk, and electronica. And their latest record, 2010's False Priest, finds the band delving into more organic territory as they get off their electronic kick and introduce traditional instruments in place of digitally produced sounds.

One thing's for sure about of Montreal, though: their live shows are epic. Their last show in town, which took place at the Granada Theater back in November, featured performance art, video, and a guy in a pig suit. Backup dancers dressed as ninjas, multiple costume changes, Alice Cooper-style stage prop gallows -- they're all par for the course with this group. And it works: Adding their solid musical catalog to these street-performer theatrics makes for a fairly perfect, glitter-soaked storm.

Which makes this news all the more exciting: We've got three pairs of tickets to give away as the freak show that is of Montreal's live show hits the South Side Music Hall tonight. So, if you want to witness the spectacle for yourself, and for free, hit the jump and find out how to win.

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