Though it’s hard right now to even think of shows further out than this weekend, The wheels are still cranking right along for Dallas promoters and talent buyers. The biggest announcements of the week are oldies, but goodies. In between his shifts inventing the new Microsoft Zune, the legendary singer…
There are few things more numbingly familiar to a child of the internet age than the digital experience. The clicking of keyboard buttons, the harmonic hum of a device startup sound, the cold glow of a the whole word staring back at you from a portable screen- they have never…
We are now in the dead heat of festival season. Even though everyone’s making their way down to Austin this week for some giant, week-long Doritos® party, there’s still plenty going on right here in our own backyards. From Macaulay Culkin’s pizza-centric Velvet Underground cover band to Miley Cyrus, there…
Under a chilly and sometimes sprinkling sheet of grey Fort Worth sky that turned stout black sooner than usual, the second edition of Untapped Fort Worth successfully kept its attendees spirits high with quality ales and well-crafted musical performances. The several food trucks on-hand even lent the event some warmth…
Don’t even talk to me right now, Dallas. Twenty notable concerts in the next four days? We don’t have time for your problems, you need to figure out how to be at Childish Gambino and Bobby Patterson’s birthday party at the same time. Oh, you didn’t get a ticket to…
There’s anywhere from 1 to 10 billion bands at any given SXSW. This year I think there are more. This makes planning one’s festival schedule a daunting monstrosity. But don’t worry, The Dallas Observer is here to help. Because it’s our opinion that festivals should be about seeing great bands,…
Y’all, The Boss is coming! The biggest concert announcement of the week had the whole internet buzzing when it broke nationally that this year’s March Madness Music Festival will bring Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, fun., Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and The Killers to Dallas. Though we can…
Festival season is upon us, and just because there’s no 35 Denton this year doesn’t mean things have slowed down for 2014. This week Untapped returns to Fort Worth, Three Links and Mad World Records will each celebrate their anniversaries with fests, and the inaugural ONE FEST will spend the…
My 16-year-old daughter, Iris, is probably the most enthusiastic and positive person I’ve ever known. So when I asked her to write up the Pixies’ show as part of our sporadic series of Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Music posts, I figured she’d have nothing but good things to…
Spring is here and what better time to kick out the cobwebs? I personally like to ring in the season with a good deep house cleaning, lots of “Let’s Dance”-era David Bowie records, and of course some good live music. This weekend presents plenty of opportunities to get your feet…
Every week, more and more shows are added to the Dallas concert calendar.This week is no different. The winter is drawing to an end, and our springtime bookings are starting to fill up fast. This week, the biggest bang on our radar came in the form of an AT&T Performing…
On Monday night at Three Links, Angel Olsen began her set with two rolicking numbers, “Forgiven/Forgotten” and “Hi-Five,” the second and third tracks on her outstanding new record, Burn Your Fire For No Witness. Olsen’s opening choices were auspicious because the songs let her show off her solid four-piece band,…
One of the first lines of Angel Olsen’s critically acclaimed sophomore effort, Burn Your Fire For No Witness, is, “Here’s to thinking that it all meant so much more.” Don’t let her soft wailing and palpable yearning for answers to mind-haunting questions fool you. To assume that this is just…
The last time Vanilla Ice played a show in DFW at Grover’s Bar and Grill in Frisco, an interesting, pop culture conversation popped up among my fellow concertgoers in the men’s room. We tried to recall one of the songs in Ice’s repertoire that wasn’t “Ice, Ice Baby.” The pause…
Dallas, do not be alarmed. I know this is a shift in your regular scheduled programming. Your eyes do not deceive you, we are indeed rolling out your weekly concerts post on a Monday, rather than the usual Thursday post. We’re trying out something a little different. From here on…
Neon-laced Texan trill was the theme of the night at Cowboys Dancehall in Arlington, where RiFF RaFF served as ringleader for a live set featuring Texas hip-hop legends, glow-in-the-dark twerking ballerinas and hundreds of entranced pre-spring breakers. It just might have been the greatest show on Earth, and it happened…
On Wednesday in Denton, leading Snarky Puppy through a two hour set at Hailey’s, Michael League dipped and waved his electric bass like a conductor’s baton. He also led the band with series of grimaces, smiles, laughter and frowns, his facial expressions helping to punctuate musical phrases and sequences, signal…
If Hayes Carll wants more in life than to play music for good people and write clever one-liners, he showed no signs of it last night at the Double Wide. Maybe it’s an act, but he does a good job of faking it. Here are some of the most Hayes…
Dallas, February is almost over. That means soon this cold devil weather will be behind us, and festival season will be in full force. So take this time now to enjoy the smaller shows and intimate venues. Perks include short lines at merch tables, high order turnaround at the bar…
Last night in Oak Cliff, Chris Thile proffered far more than a solo acoustic concert. As it often is when a noted artist performs without an opening band, the show was presented as, “An Evening with Chris Thile.” What an evening it was. Part classical history lesson, part stand-up routine…
On tape there’s something eloquent, even graceful about how Denton-formed Snarky Puppy blend various streams of sound. A great deal of these recordings capture the group in a live environment, reflecting the searing energy and fluid ease with which these artists navigate the modern (jazz) fusion frontier. It’s what has…
At about 2 p.m., I decided to purchase tickets to Demi Lovato at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie. Because why not? Now, I knew my friend and I would be some of the oldest people there sans parents, but we didn’t know just how old we would feel. I was…
