A New Look... and Weekend Shows

Greetings, my GOBL readers. As you may have noticed, the blog is looking a little, well, different. My friend Brian Nesbitt alerted me to the fact that my old background was no longer coming up. In fact, it was replaced with a message from photobucket.com (who hosted the background) stating that my account was no longer active. Trust me, that made for an ugly background that made my text unreadable.

As a result, I opted to change the layout of my page with one of the predesigned blogger layouts. I'll be honest and say that I'm not enthusiastic about the current layout, but it beats the mess that my blog looked like with the photobucket notice. In the coming weeks, I plan to do an overhaul for the look of the blog, but for now, bear with me through this transitional period.

Now, onto some weekend shows:


FRIDAY
Sarah Jaffe/Robert Gomez/Matthew Gray/Josh Mease (J&J's Pizza)
Ms. Jaffe seems to be playing less and less around the metroplex. That situation will only get worse once the new year arrives, as she will be opening for Midlake's upcoming tour of both the US and Europe.
Dem Southernfolkz/AwkQuarius/Dustin Cavanos (Good Records)
I know nothing about Mr. Cavanos, but the other two performers are among the finest rap acts in the metroplex. The show is hosted by one of my other favorite local rap acts, Damaged Good$, and it's a benefit for the North Texas Food Bank. So if you show up, please bring a canned food item. After all, you're not paying an actual cover charge.

SATURDAY
Rev. Horton Heat/The Von Erichs (Longhorn Saloon)
Rev. Horton Heat has maintained a staying power that no other band in Dallas can match (or none that I can think of at least). Fans of hard rockin' rockabilly should check it out. Oh, who am I kidding? If that's your taste in music, surely you know about the Rev.
Cocky Americans/Burning Hotels/Electric Attitude (City Tavern)
I had the privilege of hosting Cocky Americans at one of my LBG showcases over the summer, and loved their performances. I hadn't listened to the band in awhile, and didn't even recognize their song "2012" when it was played on The Local Edge. I texted the host, Mark, to find out who the band was. When he told me who it was, I felt stupid for not recognize it, but it also reminded me of how good the band is.
Jacob Metcalf/Something in the Wheel/The Fox and the Bird (Good Records)
Dear Good Records, please give us more good free shows like this one. Thanks, "The Ghost".
Damaged Good$/Record Hop/Yeahdef/Dharma/Florene (Bee's Manor)
RTB2/Manned Missiles/Spooky Folk/Eaton Lake Tonics (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio)
The Demigs/Zest of Yore/The Night (Hailey's)
I confess, I do not give enough attention to Denton shows. But with this trio of quality shows, I have no option but to pay respect to little D. I must confess that of the three shows, I find the pairing of Damaged Good$ and Record Hop most intriguing. Still, one can never go wrong with an RTB2 show, and it's been eons since I've seen The Demigs. Word has it that their sound has changed dramatically since the release of their Pixie-esque album Yardling.
The Marfalites/Pearl Street Riot (Bandera)
Here's all you need to know. The Marfalites are awesome on a normal night. This past Thursday was the birthday of lead singer Noah Caveny. This show will not be for the faint of heart, or for the faint of partying. You've been warned.