For the better part of the past decade, the term “angelic” has been oft-applied in discussing the multi-talented Carrie Rodriguez and her music. To be sure, the molasses-coated twang she imparts is very much the stuff of heavenly creatures. So are her skills with almost any instrument bearing strings, especially…
Among the many gems to be gleaned from Michael Azerrad’s stellar Our Band Could Be Your Life, the chapter that really made the tome required reading was the section that covered the friction-intensive beginnings and inner workings of Dinosaur Jr. Unlike the hardcore champions of the time, the Massachusetts trio…
The Sword, Garuda, Eagle ClawGranada TheaterFebruary 12, 2011Better than: dealing with the ramifications of a water-pipe burst at my house. Thanks, Snowpocalypse! The Granada Theater in Dallas hasn’t exactly been a haven for metalheads in recent years. No, despite piling up accolades as a top-notch venue for just about any…
Heavy metal can be fun. And in Austin, a metal band shredding its way not only through the city but also around the world is indeed having fun. The Sword, led by vocalist and songwriter John “J.D.” Cronise, have learned to use the fact that Austin’s musical focus often lies…
Back in November, we had our rock ‘n’ roll worlds, well, rocked. The perpetrators of said rocking? Tel Aviv’s Monotonix, of course. Back then, the sweaty fun actually started before the band stormed The Loft in Dallas. In a Q&A we ran in advance of the band’s November show at…
Often, a band forms only to quickly release an album that may not be the best reflection of who they truly are, musically. For Denton’s The Heelers, the route of exhaustively performing and then hitting the studio down the road was the proverbial road less traveled. And, indeed, their chosen…
Dallas-raised and SMU-educated country star Jack Ingram is still a relatively new name on the national stage for fans that live outside of the Lone Star State. But, for those of us who have lived around these parts for years and have scribbled all sorts of illegible items on the…
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…
We’ve got quite a backlog of CDs we’ve never gotten around to, so we’re going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it.Bryan Adams (Ontario,…
Every weekend throughout the metroplex, dozens of bands that aren’t native to the Dallas area come through town, hoping to commandeer the attention of a few ears and attach themselves to the memories of area concertgoers. For many a traveling band, the only way they will ever be able to…
We’ve got quite a backlog of CDs we’ve never gotten around to, so we’re going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it.Various ArtistsImus Ranch…
We’ve got quite a backlog of CDs we’ve never gotten around to, so we’re going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it. Shawn Mullins…
This mid-’90s tale isn’t unusual: Young, buzzed-about band gains the attention of several major record labels. After a bidding war that includes Madonna herself, the band selects a home. Using the marketing machinery of its new label, the band plays the prime stages of everything from European festivals to late-night…
W e’ve got quite a backlog of CDs we’ve never gotten around to, so we’re going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it.Joshua Radin…
We’ve got quite a backlog of CDs we’ve never gotten around to, so we’re going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it. Aaron Neville…
Social Distortion, Lucero and Frank Tuner House of Blues – Dallas, TX November 20, 2010 Better Than: A show that Frank Turner wasn’t opening. Saturday night at the House of Blues, the social skills of Mike Ness and his crew of rockabilly punks were anything but distorted. Orange County’s timeless…
Punk rock, perhaps more than any other musical style in recent times, has evolved into a multi-pronged and tough-to-define assault. What began as a vehicle for the principles of incendiary, raging youth has become, in many cases, an outlet for hoodie-wearing adolescents who have just graduated from the Tiger Beat…
Felice BrothersThe LoftNovember 13, 2010Better than: wondering how far TCU will fall in the BCS standings because they didn’t win by 50 points. For the second consecutive night at The Loft in Dallas, a band showed up and gave the crowd not only more than it bargained for, but almost…
Freelance Whales, Miniature Tigers, GenerationalsThe LoftNovember 12, 2010Better than: helping my wife put up the early Christmas decorations in our house (for real). It’s sometimes easy to forget how powerful of an impact that buzz can have on a young band’s existence. And, yes, buzz is a bit of an…
At once vaudevillian and also contemporarily raw, New York’s Felice Brothers have been perhaps the key cog in the recent surge of indie roots rock. Their varied sound, featuring horns, ragtime piano and fiddle (among other distinctive noisemakers), lends the group a sincere diversity that even folk-intensive indie acts, such…
As The Will Callers’ Jake Murphy adjusted to a bit of bracing, life-altering news, he was already making up his mind about his group’s immediate future. He didn’t have any choice but to make a decision in quick order—the band was set to play a show just a few days…
We’ve got quite a backlog of CDs we’ve never gotten around to, so we’re going to try to chip away at the pile with this regular feature. The plan: to take a few at a time and play each CD for as long as I can stand it.The Chieftains featuring…
