Some weekends you find yourself desperately hunting for a good show. Other weekends you find so many good shows, you find yourself frustrated at the fact that you can’t be seven places at once. This Saturday definitely falls under the latter category. Here are the seven places and shows I’d like to be at tonight.
THe BAcksliders, Somebody’s Darling, Copperwound (Lakewood Bar & Grill)
Tonight, I get the joy of seeing two of my favorite bands play together. THe BAcksliders combine Beatlesque harmony and melodies with a mixture of punk, blues, and good old fashioned rock and roll, while Somebody’s Darling plays gritty southern rock music infused with soul and vocals reminiscent of Janis Joplin. When two artists of this caliber perform, a party is sure to ensue. Oh, tonight is the birthday of Chris Bonner of THe BAcksliders, so this show gets upgraded from normal party status to ultra party status. This show is not for the faint of heart partier.
Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights, The Campaign (Granada Theater)
This time last year, I would have said “Jonathan Who”? In that time span, JT&NL have become one of the largest bands in Dallas. How did they pull it off? Their method is simple: put on a show with first class musicianship and throw it lots of fun. I mean LOTS of fun. The Granada is a great setting for these guys, leaving plenty of room for the many fans they’ve acquired in the past year. Enjoy them here while you can, because I suspect this time next year they’ll be playing venues twice or even three times that size. It’s also worth noting that openers The Campaign know how to write a good song or ten themselves.
Pleasant Grove, Stumptone, Crushed Stars (Double-Wide)
As I’m sure everyone knows by now, PG lead singer Marcus Striplin is moving to The Big Apple. This show is sure to be one of your last opportunities to see the band for a long time, so take advantage.
Macon Greyson (Woody’s Tavern)
If you’re in Fort Worth, this is where you need to be. No excuses. With the exception of Old 97’s, no one does alt-country better than these guys. Yes, that’s a lofty statement, and I totally stand behind it. And Dallas folk, fear not, as the ne’er do wells from Macon Greyson return to Adair’s tomorrow night to celebrate the club’s 45th anniversary.
Blue Petal/Rahim Quazi (White Rock Coffee)These two artists opened up my first musical showcase at Opening Bell Coffee, and they both did a great job of kicking off that evening right. Even though I had no hand in this lineup, it is sure to be as good a night of music as the Opening Bell Coffee show was. Rahim will be playing lots of stuff from the upcoming album Supernatural, which I have no doubt will be one of my favorite CDs this year. By the way, Rahim, how much longer do we have to wait?
Record Hop/Swedish Teens/American Werewolf Academy (Rubber Gloves)
If by now you aren’t familiar with Record Hop and their ability to perfectly walk the tightrope of noise and melody, then you need to get out more. Instead of raving about Record Hop, I’d like to spend this time discussing American Werewolf Academy, one of the most underappreciated bands in this town. They don’t get to play many shows, since they have to share their drummer, Tony Harper, with The Drams. That makes it even more important to see them when you can. Their songs are 2 minute gems of pure pop happiness, sounding like a perfect blend of the best parts of The Monkees and The Buzzcocks. Songs like “The Good Time Kids” and “Bearfield Fight Song” are sure to get under the skin of even the most jaded and pretentious music fans, lingering in their heads for days, maybe even weeks.
Airline, Lifters (Barley House)
Tonight is the CD Release Party for Airline’s Farewell Republica. I was not a big fan of their EP they released a few years back, but for all practical purposes, this is a totally different band. The songs from Farewell are solid pop songs with a certain dark undercurrent running through them. Although the twangy style of opening band Lifters doesn’t seem like a natural fit, it’s still a bill with two great bands. And after all, isn’t that enough?
After writing this, I’m starting work on the cloning machine. If that doesn’t work, however, I’ll probably go to Lakewood Bar & Grill to celebrate Chris Bonner’s birthday, and maybe afterwards, I’ll swing over to Barley House to catch a bit of Airline. As for the other five shows, sorry, but there’s only one of me to go around. Not unless the cloning machine works, that is.
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