Dallas Music Blog

Hal Samples

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Caity Colvard

​Son Volt served up a handful of early hits, and lots of the new stuff from The Search, Okemah and the Melody of Riot and this summer's release American Central Dust, last night at the Granada Theater.

Don't expect Jay Farrar to fire up the charm onstage like, oh, say Jeff Tweedy, did at Wilco's show at The Palladium last month (to draw a novel comparison), but you can check out photos from last night's show in this concert slide show.

Photos by Patrick Michels

Ssion's Cody Critcheloe works the crowd Saturday afternoon. Check out more photos in our slide show.

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Gloria Levario

If you think Dorrough put that gold record down for one second last night, you're crazy.

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Caity Colvard

The Donnas at last Thursday's free Trees show.

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Gloria Levario

Dead Prez's stic.man at The Prophet Bar on Wednesday night.

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As promised, Dead Prez stopped in to perform at the Prophet Bar and participate in the Deep Ellum venue's phenomenal weekly Wednesday night hip-hop jam session this week. No, really, we've can prove it--in the form of a slideshow from Gloria Levario, who dutifully stopped in on the event to document it for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Rachel Parker

"Hey kid, anyone ever tell you what 'Louie Louie's really about?"

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Blame it on the last weekend of the fair, clear skies after weeks of rain, and this down economy, but Saturday's attempt to top 1,800 guitarists strumming to the same tune in the same room came up far short of the record set in Luckenbach this summer.

But Texas Guitar Show organizer Dave Crocker doesn't mind saying their group rendition of "Louie Louie" couldn't complete with the long-standing record: "We didn't try real hard," he says. It'll take a week or more for organizers to review the video and make their final count, but there's no doubt in Crocker's mind they came up short.

"We had 3500 people in the damn building, and couldn't get 1800 of them to play," Crocker says, conceding the record attempt was a late add to the annual showcase of rare and vintage guitars and gear.

With a little more planning and some advance notice, he says there's no reason they can't set a new mark next time around. "Next year, we're gonna make them play," Crocker says. "We're gonna plug in Marshall amps and we're gonna play at a level that nobody can handle until they join in."

Our photographer Rachel Parker was there to document the attempt, and the guitars on display, and you can have a look here in our slideshow.

Patrick Michels

Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids, joined by Tim DeLaughter late in the competition. More photos here.

​Erykah Badu and the Cannabinoids faced off against Shiny Toy Guns Friday night, with nothing but Victory Plaza, a swarm of fans and some noise-metering microphones between them.

Dedicated readers will have already delved into the show through Nic's review and the official video we posted earlier, but let's complete the multimedia trifecta now, with our slideshow from the night.

Patrick Michels

Giving equal weight to both sides, here's Shiny Toy Guns wrapping up a country number, per a late-round challenge in the contest.

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Daniel Folmer, Dust Congress, Glen Farris, and Sabra Laval
J&J's Pizza, Denton
October 17, 2009

Better than: watching OU-TX fans yell at one another on the parking lot that was I-35E.

Danny Fulgencio

Dust Congress' Nick Foreman. And a cello. For more of Danny Fulgencio's shots from Saturday night, check the slideshow here.

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Were it not a music venue, the dirty basement at J&J's Pizza would be the kind of place you might expect to find small skeletons. From its stained concrete floors to its low, dust-covered rafters, this venue lends itself to all things ominous.

That said, throw in a small bar, tables, chairs and a floor-level "stage" and you have a dark intimacy unlike any of Denton's hotspots.

And in a dimness akin to the dive bars of Hollywood's underworld, Daniel Folmer, Dust Congress, Glen Farris and Sabra Laval played a free show for a quiet crowd of perhaps 50 people. Folmer headlined the event, which doubled as a CD release show for his new album,  Dead End.

Hal Samples

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Patrick Michels

Folds working the ivories alongside conductor Rei Hotoda

Ben Folds returned to the Meyerson Symphony Center last night to accompany the DSO in a night of classed-up favorites and a few new tunes.

Conductor and pianist Rei Hotoda led the orchestra beside Folds at the piano. The old Ben Folds Five tune "Smoke" came up early in the night, along with his more recent "All U Can Eat"--a song partly conceived in a Denny's, Folds said, "just like me."

You'll find a few more shots -- but couldn't get a whole lot more before we were ushered out of our perch in the wings -- here in this slideshow.

Danny Fulgencio

Montonix draws a crowd.

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Gloria Levario

Dorrough likes his drinks clean on the outside and creeam on the inside. Naturally.

​It's been a week for Dallas hip-hop king (for the moment at least) Dorrough: This week, the Lancaster native learned that the sales on his "Ice Cream Paint Job" single have earned him a gold record. And, perhaps more exciting, he also learned that he's up for three awards in next month's BET Hip-Hop Awards: Rookie of the Year, Best Hip-Hop Video, and the oh-so-coveted Viewer's Choice Award.

Or, in a phrase: Yeah, buddy!

(...sorry.)

Anyway, last night, Dorrough and a cast of local luminary friends--among them B-Hamp, DJ Drop and Play-N-Skillz--showed up at 2026 Ultra Lounge to celebrate his recent successes. And our own Gloria Levario was there to capture it all for your viewing pleasure. Check it out her slideshow recapping the night.

Roger Caldwell

Motorhead revs up the Palladium.

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Dylan Hollingsworth

You're still dangerous, Iceman.

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Gloria Levario

Cedric Bixler-Zavala screams for ice cream.

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You've read the review. Now check out photographer Gloria Levario's slideshow set from Wednesday night's performance right here...

Mattie Stafford

Alan Palomo works out the kinks Wednesday night.

​Neon Indian--big online, and perhaps soon to be big in Cork--kicked off a world tour last night at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios in Denton (or had you already read about that?).

Mattie Stafford was there in the cozy, low-lit confines as Alan Palomo and crew got their sound just right before leaving town. Check out more shots from the show in this photo set.

Caity Colvard

Check it out, I'm feeding this zombie a beer!

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Danny Fulgencio

Seryn onstage at Hailey's Saturday night.

​Telegraph Canyon, Matthew Gray Delves Into the Humanity Pools..., Seryn and other Denton acts welcomed the students back to Denton Saturday night, at Spune's Back To School Ice Cream Social.

The party, though its bring-your-own ice cream and toppings strategy enjoyed limited success, had pool and big-screen Nintendo games to offer fans a break during a long night of music at Hailey's.

New photo intern Danny Fulgencio was on hand for the show, and made an auspicious DC9 debut with this fine photo set.

Caity Colvard

Fans salute Bowling For Soup Saturday afternoon.

​The second annual Dia De Los Toadies Festival took over Rough Creek Ranch in Glen Rose on Saturday (here's our show review) with Bowling For Soup, Ben Kweller, the Toadies and more rocking out in the country.

Photographer Caity Colvard walked among the crowd to get shots of the bands and the scene out on the ranch, and you'll find her shots in this photo set.

Dylan Hollingsworth

Slobberbone headlined Friday's festivities.

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The folks at the Granada Theater must've been pleased as pie on Friday night, having sold out of tickets for its fifth anniversary celebration an all.

Of course, it helps that the venue had some local favorites on the bill to help draw in the crowds: Openers Danny Balis and Macon Greyson both used the date as a way to celebrate their new releases, and to headline the ordeal, the theater was able to call in a favor to Slobberbone, who, random reunions throughout the past year or not, remains a big draw atop a bill.

For those who were there and want to relive the madness--and even to those just curious about what they might have missed--point your clicker right here and check out Dylan Hollingsworth's slideshow recap of the night.

Patrick Michels

​Check out more photos from the night in our slideshow.

The weirdest moment at last night's Hard Rock Cafe grand opening party? Take your pick, but I'll say it was right at the end, when it turned out the winner of the night's big raffle was with the band.

After a night full of ridiculous universe-colliding types of moments, Old 97's tour manager Mike Dalke took the stage, waving his ticket around to prove hadn't gamed the raffle. Beside him, the Old 97's cheer him on like crazy -- with big, plastered-on grins like the Dude in The Big Lebowski's "Gutterballs" sequence -- because their tour manager, a guy who's spent years managing acts, just won a trip to see Kenny Chesney in New York City.

Realize too that only three of the four 97's are onstage, because guitarist Ken Bethea is off vomiting somewhere, and onstage with the band instead is Brian Cuban, brother of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, holding a giant novelty check for charity. (The $18,000 donation from Hard Rock was just a slice of the cash raised Thursday night for the Fallen Heroes Fund.)

The grand opening party for Dallas's newest Hard Rock Cafe was a night-long theater of the absurd, with oddball moments like this playing out beside a sprawling buffet line against a canvas of the baseline VIP-only gala douchery. It was a great time. Check out our slideshow from the night for more of the night, including moments like:

• Mayor Tom Leppert plugging Michael Irvin's number into his iPhone.
• Hard Rock waitresses proving there's no song that can't occasion a conga line.
• Rhett Miller, Mike Modano, dignitaries from the Florida Seminole Tribe, Jason Terry and Michael Irvin breaking guitars on cinder blocks in unison.
• Irvin telling reporters about his new partner on Dancing With the Stars: "She's teaching me to use muscles I didn't even know existed."

Danny Hurley

​If you've seen Scary Movies 3 or 4, or have friends who went an offbeat direction with their wedding entertainment, you may already be familiar with the work of Michael Jackson impersonator extraordinaire Edward Moss.

If you rolled into The Lodge last night expecting to grab a beer at your usual Tuesday night table for your usual Tuesday night view, by now you're also well familiar with Moss' talents which -- while they include elaborate costume changes, makeup and dance moves, also include lip-synching to MJ's hits.

It's been a good long while since DC9's last memorable visit to the gentlemen's club (or to this one), but squint a little and this sight is almost too weird. Grapple with the thought of Michael Jackson sharing a stage with strippers, surrounded by big cats on a rocky outcropping, cheered on by the seventy-somethings in the front row. It's all true -- see for yourself in our slideshow.

Mattie Stafford

​Quia already offered her take on last night's Mos Def show at the House of Blues--and she stuck it out to the very end, unlike a good portion of the crowd.

For another look at the show, though, we've got Mattie Stafford--who was right up front with her camera for Mos Def and Jay Electronica--and came away from the night with this slide show.

Roger Caldwell

Marilyn Manson brought his dope show to the Mayhem festival on Saturday.

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Gloria Levario

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Hal Samples

Slow Ro shakes some limbs. The tree jokes are endless, really.

​Know what sucks about planning vacations in advance? You're screwed as far as events that get planned for the week you're gone after your flight and all that's been booked. Hence my regrettably missing out on a weekend full of sold-out shows at the newly re-opened Trees in Deep Ellum.

Alas, I can still get the gist of how things went down--on Friday night, at least--thanks to this fine photo slideshow taken by Hal Samples as Slow Roosevelt re-christened the venue. Thanks to Hal's intrepid eye, it almost feels like I was there. Emphasis on almost. But close!

Roger Caldwell

​Like the Kid Rock/Skynyrd show at Superpages a few weeks back (or even the chihuahua owners from last weekend), the shots from Saturday night's Crue Fest are worth a look if only as a window into a world you'd otherwise rarely have reason to encounter.

That said, Roger Caldwell's shots of Motley Crüe and Godsmack onstage at the marathon festival are nothing to sneeze at -- you can have a look at them here.

Patrick Michels

​Could've filed this one under "Night Moves" just as easily, because the King Bucks' poolside set at the Belmont Hotel last weekend was all about the scene.

Under Thursday night's full moon, with the Dallas skyline lit up behind them, the Bucks spent hours on the lawn stage, while the hotel's chef served up ribs and chicken off the grill and kids splashed around in the pool.

You can check out more shots from the show, while you wonder why more shows aren't staged just like this one, in our slideshow here.

Stevey Visneau

​As Catherine eloquently related over the weekend, Broken Social Scene finally made their long-awaited Dallas tour date, after the flu-induced fevers and hot tempers of their late January cancellation.

For those of you hankering for another look at the show, Stevey Visneau brings us this photo set with more shots of the band and the crowd at the Palladium Friday night.