Let your freak flags fly: Remember March’s Wall of Sound Festival 2006? If your memory’s hazy, that’s probably for good reason; expectations were a little high, crowds were a little skim and the thing ran a little too long, but the heart–and the bands, dammit–were worth it. We can’t help…
On the evening of June 24, exactly one year and one day after my debut music column appeared in the Dallas Observer, a man left a vague message on my cell phone. Who was he? Not sure. How’d he get the personal number? Lord knows. But I slept through the…
You can pretend all you want that you’re still a kid—wear that messenger bag and pair of Chucks, keep the Mats cassette in the Honda Accord and say things like, “I’m only 27, man”—but adulthood officially begins when you rearrange your schedule to enjoy midweek holidays. Sure, you might get…
Planning on celebrating your Fourth of July weekend with some, uh, garage sale hunting? Well, it makes sense on some level—holiday weekends are a buyer’s market when it comes to rummaging through stacks of clothes, records and furniture on people’s front lawns, so if you’re stuck in the city, you…
If you’re new to competitive bullriding, you might not know about the rise of Brazilian riders in the American Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit. Might seem strange, but did you know that one of the country’s best is not only Brazilian but also calls Keller home? Adriano Moraes, the two-time…
Everybody in Dallas, give it up for Callithump Productions. In its short lifespan, the local booking upstart has quickly grown from aimless infant to badass teen, and this Callithump showcase proves it by proudly showcasing two of the area’s most outstanding new acts. Teenage Symphony steals its name from Brian…
Best cow in town: “That is fucking outrageous,” Salim Nourallah told us over the phone on Monday. “I hate those fuckers.” The 2006 Dallas Observer Music Award winner seldom gets so angry, so what’s irritated this soft-spoken father? Why, the Curtain Club/Liquid Lounge/Club Clearview complex. A few weeks ago, we…
If you think this week’s cover feature is an end-all, comprehensive look at Dallas music Web sites, you’re mistaken. “Plugged In” focuses on only three major bloggers; the people behind Gorilla vs. Bear, We Shot JR and Texas Gigs are certainly worth the attention, but what good is a piece…
“The point of this blog isn’t just to be an asshole, although that is a big part of it. I’m going to go to some local shows, listen to local CDs and write about them…Sometimes I will be mean to the bands that annoy me. Sometimes I will be nice…
Luckily, the production of When I Was a Child at the Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman St., isn’t focused on our younger years. Good thing–stagings of homework done on time and standing out in right field would bore you to tears, though occasional whining fits at Chili’s might’ve been entertaining…
Sometimes, great ideas for children’s entertainment don’t just go bad—they get awkward. Remember Xuxa, the Brazilian children’s show host who delighted kids with flying spaceships and fun songs? Probably not—the show tanked in the States once parents found out Xuxa was a former nightclub dancer and erotic movie actress. And…
Ozone alert: Though you’ll find some complaints about local music festivals (er, festival) on the previous page, we at AAT would be damn fools to ignore a good ol’ summer show full of dirty Dallas rhyme kings. It’s not Fitty, the Game or Juvy, but the Southern Alliance Concert at…
The following information won’t surprise anyone who’s opened a Dallas Observer in the past year: I’m no fan of Edgefest 15. Sunday’s music festival is certainly worth talking about, though not merely because of my disdain for the middle-of-the-road bands plucked from 102.1 The Edge’s play lists and thrown on…
During college, I saw bands like Pine Hill Haints damn near every week. Something about Austin attracts swampy, podunk acoustic acts, the kinds of swill pots that mix bluegrass, country and even punk into a sonic brew with enough bite and aftertaste to scare your Aunt Mae half to death…
Now that’s what I’m talking about–an album title that gets to the point. Thing is, Cex (the perpetually transforming solo project/group/something helmed by Rjyan Kidwell) misleads: AF’s toned-down slew of break beats, synths and poppy guitar melodies sounds more like sonic foreplay than Kidwell’s former albums, which previously focused on…
Texas Gigs should have a lot to celebrate as of late. The 4-year-old Internet destination won the brand-new Best Web Site award at last month’s Dallas Observer Music Awards; 10 days later, the site’s first national honors came from the EPpy Awards (spearheaded by the reputable Editor & Publisher magazine),…
“It’s good, good luck,” Memphis-born singer Megan Reilly says. “I really feel like luck is,” and she pauses before finishing the sentence, “necessary.” Probably because she has a lot of it to reflect on: The musicians she’s happened upon in a short half-decade are a publicist’s dream–she roped in members…
Got the Blues: Before our weeks of hiatus at AAT HQ (SARS scare, but we’re cool now), we’d heard rumors about the House of Blues opening one of its national mid-level concert franchises in Dallas, supposedly near South Side on Lamar. This week, we returned to see the final report…
The other day, we found a binder filled with all kinds of crap—photo sets from Dallas Observer events, along with trinkets, mementos and cute captions written in colorful paper. We said to ourselves, “Wow! What an incredibly dorky way to commemorate our promotional nights out. If only this junk was…
We no longer live in a green slime world. Eighties television attacked children with the wonders of colorful goo in three ways—Ghostbusters, Double Dare and You Can’t Do That on Television. These days, Nickelodeon (the original slime champ) clings to its messy, artificially colored applesauce past (yes, that’s what the…
We have trouble believing that people are still interested in Diana, Princess of Wales. Once the world’s most beloved royal icon, Lady Di took her taxi ride to heaven nearly a decade ago—old news, right? The 11 characters in The Dianalogues would certainly disagree with that stance; the Panther City…
If you attend a baseball game this week, you’re much better off seeing the Frisco Roughriders than the Texas Rangers. That’s not much of a hot sports opinion—the Rangers are currently on a road trip through Chicago and Kansas City, so any visits to the Ballpark in AmeriQuest this week…
