Rodriguez – House of Blues – 10/22/12

Rodriguez House of Blues Monday, October 22 Last night, the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues was witness to a first, as Detroit singer-songwriter and current documentary subject Rodriguez took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd. After asking if anyone was from Detroit and offering his condolences,…

My Education

Austin’s instrumental cabal My Education were here back in June, stirring the waters for the live score to Sunrise at Texas Theatre. They return to town on the Sound Mass Tour, an improvised collaborative effort with like-minded Salt Lake City group Theta Naught. That mash-up was caught on tape and…

Arturo Sandoval

If you consider the trumpet a side dish, the stuffing to some needlessly bespectacled frontman’s turkey, you’ve been procuring too many of your meals via Pitchfork. That shiny, spitty contraption is a star, and there was an era that made it such, when horn players required only one name: Louis,…

1919 Hemphill’s 10th Anniversary

Fort Worth’s DIY punk and hardcore venue 1919 Hemphill is celebrating 10 years standing this weekend. How many volunteer-run spaces can you say have done the same while strengthening the local music community in the process? Earlier this year, venue booker Rick Vandeveerdonk even stood in front of a gun…

Good Sons, Pinkish Black

By now, your Halloween-themed events roster is getting a little lengthy, but if you have time to squeeze in one more, let it be Good Sons and Pinkish Black. What started as a sporadic Nick Cave tribute band in the early 2000s — and included Warren Jackson Hearne, Will Kapinos…

45 Fest

Deep Ellum’s 45 Fund exists to promote mental-health awareness for artists and musicians and as a tribute to Dallas punk band Spector 45’s Frankie Campagna and Adam Carter, who both committed suicide last year. An art exhibit, Live Fast Die Slow, opens October 18 at Kettle Art and will feature…

Sofar Sounds Does Denton – 10/13/12

This past Saturday, a brick house tucked away in a tree-lined neighborhood just north of Texas Woman’s University was transformed into a conduit of light and sound, serving as the 189th secret location for Sofar Sounds’ living-room shows, and the second show witnessed by Denton invitees. A cloudy day served…

Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Granada Theater

Live music is like food. Sometimes you want fast junk, but occasionally you want the dish unhurried, richly textured and profoundly delicious. Montreal’s Godspeed You! Black Emperor are progenitors of the “slow music” movement that emerged in the late ’90s, and after a 10-year hiatus, the band has reformed to…

R. Stevie Moore at Rubber Gloves

R. Stevie Moore has been labeled a “lo-fi hero,” a DIY messiah for cassette culture hawks, but in reality, his music is pop in its purest sense. He has more than 300 releases to his name, and has managed to be more efficient in his 40-year-career than most acts backed…

RTB2, Nervous Curtains, Ice Eater at LaGrange

With their newest album, 2, out on the streets, Denton rock two-piece RTB2 will headline a very well-balanced set at LaGrange. You have Fort Worth’s Ice Eater, a promising five-piece that blends the bounce of Talking Heads with the melodies of Sting’s early solo records. Then it’s Dallas’ Nervous Curtains,…

Sam Bush at Live Oak Music Hall & Lounge

If a bluegrass festival happens and mandolin maestro Sam Bush isn’t on the bill, did bluegrass really happen there? To be clear, there are plenty of worthy bluegrass acts to round out a solid lineup, but it’s tough to imagine a festival feeling and sounding complete without the man many…

Afghan Whigs at Granada Theater

Within the bowels of the ’90s reunion machine, Ohio’s Afghan Whigs are one of those bands you never really expected to be spat out again. Their 1993 LP, Gentlemen, was perhaps a high point, full of tightly wound guitar confessionals and singer Greg Dulli’s tortured lyrical jags, which perfectly mirrored…

The 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher Breakdown

In the last couple of years, the BET Hip-Hop Awards have proven to be the most ironic awards show on television. There’s little to no merit in an artist actually taking home an award anymore, unless you get the I Am Hip Hop lifetime achievement honor. The most important accolade…

California Wives on Vagrant Records and the Musée d’Orsay

Chicago’s California Wives, featured most recently in a commercial for Sharpie, will grace Dallas on Saturday, when they open for Stars. Jayson Kramer took some time out to share with us about being on Vagrant Records, museums and touring with Stars. Since you’re on Vagrant Records, I’m curious as to…

Index Festival – Trees – 10/5/12 & 10/6/12

Index Festival Trees Friday, October 5 & Saturday, October 6 Since the beginning of 2012, the music festival landscape has included 35 Denton and its Labor Day weekend Hot Wet Mess, Memorial Day weekend’s Homegrown Music & Arts Festival in the heart of downtown, KXT’s Summer Cut in early June,…

Dinosaur Jr. – The Prophet Bar – 10/6/12

Dinosaur Jr. The Prophet Bar Saturday, October 6 It’s a tale that’s been repeated throughout the history of rock: a washed-up band comes to town to promote new album, fans demand the familiar old stuff and a journalist writes a negative review. At Saturday night’s Dinosaur Jr. show, this old…

Def Rain, Cool Womb – Macaroni Island – 10/7/12

Def Rain, Cool Womb, Know Nothing Party, Gravies and the Main Dish Sauce Macaroni Island Sunday, October 7 About 30 bodies huddled in the converted garage at 2311 Houston Place on Sunday night for Macaroni Island’s second house show. With its concrete floors, track lighting and egg-crate foam padding, the…

St. Vincent and David Byrne – McFarlin Auditorium – 10/7/12

St. Vincent and David Byrne McFarlin Auditorium Sunday, October 7 Musical collaborations among established artists usually don’t work. Sometimes there’s too much baggage of past success to overcome, or the resulting product is just a novelty that didn’t bring out the best of the artists involved or satisfy any fanbase…

Bryan Street Tavern’s Big Fucking Anniversary Party – 10/6/12

Bryan Street Tavern’s Big Fucking Anniversary Party Bryan Street Tavern Saturday, October 6 For what was billed the “big fucking anniversary party” at Bryan Street Tavern on Saturday, a host of local acts, mixed in with a handful of bands from Tennessee and Brooklyn, had the attention of plenty as…

Fuxa

Getting to see Fuxa, the longtime electronic project of Detroit’s Randall Nieman, in an intimate space like Good Records should be enough to get the synth-heads out. The group’s latest release, Electric Sound of Summer, features vocal contributions from Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips and a cover of Fun Boy…