Fort Worth’s Hall Ensemble returns chamber music to its roots by presenting ensemble music the way it was originally performed — in rich people’s giant living rooms. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, the ensemble, made up of Fort Worth Symphony players and Fort Worth Opera singers, presents Music at the Mansion:…
Video Games Live is a dorkily interactive, multimedia concert extravaganza. A revamp of the original concert, the tour will include performances by industry leaders Tommy Tallarico, Bill Elm, Laura “Flute Link” Intravia and Emmanuel Fratianni, and they’ll be joined by the RISD All-City Orchestra and Chorus. Arrive early for a…
Dallas, I hope you’ve braced yourself for Artopia. We at the Observer pride ourselves in being better than everyone else in several important ways — we write the words that make you happy, dig up interesting events and spotlight the artists who make our city great. That’s all well and…
Did Mom and Dad throw out all of your old Hot Wheels, Strawberry Shortcake dolls and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures? Did you get home one day to find your Popple and TIE fighter missing for eternity? Didn’t they understand that those things are collectible? Don’t settle for the…
If you thought that Django Unchained was going to be a biopic about John Baptiste “Django” Reinhardt, then we’re thinking Tarantino’s violence-laden spaghetti Western gave you quite a surprise. Perhaps this weekend’s Django Reinhardt Festival will be more your cup of tea? For three nights, jazz lovers will experience workshops,…
You go to the Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.) because you love and support its mission, but also because of its Good Human Element: namely, the venue’s exceptional staff. Bartender/life coach/bar art wizard Susie Sue is the Wendy Bird to Oak Cliff’s Lost Boys. She doles out solid advice,…
The past few weeks have been a coughing, hacking, feverish blur of vaccine panic and flu hysteria. If you haven’t had it, you’re lucky; if you have, then you’ve certainly served your time sweating under the covers. And after all that time you spent sequestered with your germs, you need…
Modern dance enthusiasts have launched a pretty impressive tradition here in Dallas, taking over the Bath House Cultural Center (521 E. Lawther Drive) every January for the last 12 years. That means if you haven’t made it over to the Barefoot Brigade Dance Festival, you better get on the good…
That massive celebration of grassroots art lovin’, Art Con 8, left us gleeful for weeks. So why they’re throwing all of us a thank you party is beyond me. Shouldn’t we be baking those organizers a giant cake? (Let’s not overthink it.) It’s a big Monday over at Double Wide…
You spent most of your college career dodging lectures, spending afternoons watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes in lieu of macroeconomics class. But now — now that you’re working so hard to repay the loans that enabled said truancy — suddenly you love lectures. Maybe it’s because you couldn’t enjoy…
Beer people don’t need much prodding to attend a dinner dedicated to extolling the virtues of beer. It’s sort of a non-challenge. In the case of the Libertine Bar Saint Arnold Beer Dinner, we really just have to mention the name of the event and brewsters will be warming up…
If you’re not familiar with the work of Tim Kerr, you’re about to be. (Unless you stop reading, but don’t be a dick.) Tim paints portraits of artists and has long dreamed of a show where his portraits are surrounded by the artists’ work. Fortunately, Bruce and Julie Webb are…
Rachel MorrisonMichael B. Jordan (The Wire), who’s fully up to the challenge, in Fruitvale.You could hear a pin drop during the first Sundance screening of writer-director Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale, an enormously powerful and moving debut feature based on the shooting death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant by Oakland transit police in…
In Death by Microphone, local Brit and barbecue blogger Gavin Cleaver attends stand-up comedy classes at the Dallas Comedy House and reports back for our amusement. Check back next week to revel further in his failure. It felt like a lengthy course last week, two hours during which we heard…
Late last year, as most of the city’s creators went into holiday hibernation, the Observer’s culture editor, Jamie Laughlin, assembled a team of fellow cultural obsessives and went to work, looking for this year’s Masterminds. See also: The Dallas Observer 2011 MasterMinds Awards It’s the third straight year we’ve done…
Let’s be honest: Most of us who enjoy reading give in to the act appropriately for any long-term relationship. When climbing into bed with the new George Saunders, sweatpants are often involved. Unmatched socks? Well, they’re dear friends too. It’s hard to say whether or not we’ve brushed our teeth…
The Texas Fashion Collection at the University of North Texas has an annual series that showcases a specific theme. A moving exhibition called The Joy Losee Collection: Art and Dress Along the Silk Road tries to bridge the beauty of women’s ornamental garments to the cultural fears and prejudices associated…
Joel Hodgson, the creator and original host of Mystery Science Theater 3000, entertained a packed house at Oak Cliff’s Texas Theater Saturday night. It was a twofer, beginning with an introduction and screening of the show’s classic “Pod People” episode, followed by Hodgson’s new one-man showcase, “Riffing Myself.” In his…
We at the Observer specialize in a few, key areas — writing the words you want to read, digging up interesting stories and spotlighting the people who influence our city. Also, and possibly most important: We throw GIANT parties. This Saturday (January 26) is Artopia, one of our biggest of…
Zach Guillot is 8, and he loves Batman. He has a Batman costume (it’s “pretty much real”) and a Batmobile made of cardboard that he drove around his Dallas neighborhood at Halloween, little LEDs lighting the path to chocolate justice. He even has a sidekick: His little brother, who loves…
Mirroring the choreography of birds of paradise is the mating ritual of nature’s rather baffling and little studied species, dorkus maximus. Until this Social Science event at the Perot museum, held last Friday night, we knew little about this fascinating group and even less about its sexual selection patterns. There…
Each week, Audra Schroeder breaks down the latest episode of HBO’s girls. Episode two of Girls was all about extremes, starting with the lows: Adam’s sad, shirtless YouTube music video, which Hannah and Elijah watch like a nature documentary, while Hannah wonders aloud if Adam loved her enough to…
