Boys Named SueLa Grange10 p.m.What can be said now about the Boys Named Sue that hasn’t been said already over their rabble-rousing course of recent history? Not much, really, but we’ll give it a shot, since they managed to basically set theoretical fire to the stage of La Grange with…
Rabid fans and nit-picky journalists can be a prickly lot—especially when it comes to what is perceived as selling out or simply echoing a rehashed sound from a previous period. With that, it’s rather fitting that Silversun Pickups and Against Me! are touring together. Against Me! leader Tom Gabel could…
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.Giving Tree Band…
Joe Pug, Doug BurrSons of Hermann HallJuly 8, 2010 Better Than: Waiting to see on TV where LeBron chose to play basketball. KXT-91.7 FM’s Barefoot at the Belmont show turned into a Hardwoods at the Hermann one on Thursday night. Since the open air of the Belmont Hotel isn’t, you…
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.Indigo GirlsStaring Down…
In recent years, more than a few adroit artists would likely point directly to the blogosphere as the source for much of their fan base and growing success. Joe Pug, a folk troubadour from Chicago, is one such blog proponent. A couple of years ago, Pug was barely known outside…
Blazing summer heat? Check. A barren, dusty field for drunken revelry? Check. Hotter-than-the-astronomical-July-heat-index act Ryan Bingham? Sure. The Randy Rogers Band as the established, crowd-pleasing headliner? Absolutely. Alt-rock heroes Everclear? Uh, yeah, OK. MC Hammer? Wait, what? This should be more than a little interesting. In recent years, the festival…
Pasaporte, the third release from Dallas’ Lost Immigrants, is a pleasant, completely listenable album that fans of well-written country rock will quickly hoist their beers to. But that isn’t to say that this disc is much of a statement, or that it will propel the band into the vanguard of…
Those already carrying a ticket for any of this summer’s three Texas Lilith Fair stops–including the Dallas show scheduled on Monday, August 16, at the Superpages.com Center–needn’t proceed to get terribly attached to the flowers you were planning on adorning your hair with. Seems the Dallas date of the Lilith…
If the goal of a two-part series is to have the initial installment create enough intrigue and interest for the consumer to eagerly await the subsequent part, then Rodney Parker & Fifty Peso Reward can go ahead and hang their Mission Accomplished sign up right behind their drum kit. Instead…
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.Sugar and Gold…
Concrete Blonde, Jim BiancoGranada TheaterJune 18, 2010Better than: listening to Bloodletting on CD, sad to say. The recent trend of bands performing shows and planning them around an entire album has become quite the rage these days. It’s gotten almost absurd: The fan-friendly phenomenon has grown to the point where…
Josh Ritter, The MynabirdsThe Granada TheaterJune 15, 2010Better than: watching both hours of Hell’s Kitchen on TV. Six years and three additional, well-received studio albums can do wonders for a performer’s attendance figures, it seems. Josh Ritter, who rolled through town last night with a stop at the Granada Theater…
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.Widespread Panic (Athens,…
Mumford & Sons, The Middle EastHouse of Blues’ Cambridge RoomJune 10, 2010Better than: being at the show that was taking place in the House of Blues’ main hall. The Wonder Girls? Really? Inside of the sold-out Cambridge Room at the House of Blues on Thursday night, there was little room…
Folk troubadour Josh Ritter isn’t all that concerned with baring his soul for all to see. He knows that sharing his personal thoughts on love isn’t a path toward writing a song that’s particularly memorable. “I’ve never been thrilled with the idea of someone reading my diary,” says the Idaho…
A plucky banjo and weary vocals does not a bluegrass or folk band make. And, sure, the predominantly string-based sound of English quartet Mumford & Sons makes it somewhat easy for the uninitiated to hastily lump them into simple folky groupings. But their bigger-than-the-Atlantic choruses and their ability to turn…
MGMT, Tame Impala House of BluesJune 8, 2010 Better than: Hearing these songs yet again in a movie trailer, commercial or clothing store. For anyone keeping track of MGMT these days, this most likely won’t come as a shock: The band’s sold-out show last night at the House of Blues…
With much of today’s musical landscape littered with pre-fab pop acts that are adept at costume changes and magazine cover shoots (if little else), it’s easy to understand that many folks are quick to embrace any artist or act that possesses even a slight resemblance to certain sounds of the…
For the past decade, few artists have become as synonymous with their instrument as has Robert Randolph with his blazing steel guitar. And, given his place on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time list, Randolph had quite the luxury in choosing from an elite list when it…
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.Los Lobos (Los…
When deciding what to name their trio, Warren Spicer, Matt Woodley and Nic Basque came up with a tag that they, at the time, felt was relatively innocuous and meaningless moniker as it pertained to their collective future. In short: Deciding on Plants & Animals wasn’t exactly an earth-shattering experience…
