Concert Reviews

Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires @ Club Dada, Dallas, TX 9/29/14

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The common Southern fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, can carry, on average, twenty times its body weight. Twenty times a fire ant’s body weight might only be a bread crumb or a leaf but twenty times the weight is still impressive. In Dallas last night, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires (hereafter abbreviated as TGF(when it feels right)), were ferocious as southern fire ants. Four guys commanded and lifted a room that was heavier than they were…and they made it look easy. Continue reading Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires @ Club Dada, Dallas, TX 9/29/14 →

Concert Reviews

Strand of Oaks @ Three Links, Dallas, TX 9/7/14

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My buddy turned to me and said, “They’re playing ‘JM,’ they’re about to tear it up.” Plenty of bands have anthems, songs they’re known for, but most don’t have clear-cut burners that take their time absolutely bringing the place down.Off the top of my head I can name three: Weezer – Only In Dreams, Sigur Ros – #8, and Lynyrd Skynyrd- Freebird. Tonight, I saw Strand of Oaks play ‘JM’ and burn down Dallas TX. Continue reading Strand of Oaks @ Three Links, Dallas, TX 9/7/14 →

Uncategorized

Movie Review: Frank

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Frank – Official Trailer (YouTube)

I happened to see the trailer for a movie I had never heard of, called Frank, at 8:45AM this Saturday morning. Within five minutes of seeing the preview, I found that the Angelika Theater at Mockingbird Station was the only place in Dallas showing this wonderfully bizarre looking movie, and by 10:20AM, I was sitting in a dark room with about twelve other people, waiting to see just what this giant paper-mache head had in store for us. Continue reading Movie Review: Frank →

Album Reviews

Review: Benjamin Booker – S/T

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Resist the urge to compare Benjamin Booker to (insert band name here). Yes, traces of the music that Booker listened to growing up can be easily identified but those traces amount to nothing more than a few pieces of a much more interesting puzzle. At the same time that his self-titled debut album is blues, punk, rock, and soul, it’s also none of the above. Benjamin Booker did what all great artists try to do, he made a record that captured “himself.” Continue reading Review: Benjamin Booker – S/T →

Concert Reviews

NIN/Soundgarden – Gexa Energy Pavillion, Dallas, TX, 8/17/14

Nine Inch Nails/Soundgarden – Gexa Energy Pavillion, Dallas, TX 8/17/14

NEVER underestimate old man strength or judge a book by its cover.

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(because I showed up as Soundgarden was taking the stage, I shall forego reviewing/making up words about the opening band Cold Cave and just assume they were consummate professionals and a perfect opening act)

My friend had heard on the radio this week that Soundgarden was not worth seeing live, they were old and washed up, save your money. I told my friend to immediately get a ticket. Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden is a concert bill that shouldn’t even exist. They’ve been friendly enemies for years and both bands are far past their popular prime. So why bother going out to Fair Park to see them? The simple answer is history and the future. Continue reading NIN/Soundgarden – Gexa Energy Pavillion, Dallas, TX, 8/17/14 →

Assorted Ramblings

Hello world!

“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”

-Almost Famous-

The idea of a thoroughly uncool person reviewing, opining, and waxing poetic on all the coolest forms of art made me instantly think of this quote.

I read a lot of music blogs and I noticed that they all use the same words about the same bands and make the same obscure references to bands/movies you probably don’t know. I saw the same “news” story coming across 20 different websites, reporting on reports of reports of reports, reposted from a 2 sentence interview done by someone who heard something that sounded like a story. Everything I post/review on here, be it music/movies/tv/art/food, will be my own take stemming from my own bias and belief. I love the raw energy of the Drive-By Truckers and I also think Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball tour is maybe the greatest tour of all time. I cry during La Bamba, I don’t really get what’s that great about The Godfather, and I’m the only person in the US that owns a copy of Norm Macdonald’s Dirty Work. Basically, I’m trying to say I don’t want to parrot what’s already been said. I hope I get to meet and interview bands as they come through town and ask them different questions than the ones they have perfectly scripted answers to. I hope my take on something makes you look at it a bit different. I also hope to always champion and improve the things I love. When a bad review is warranted, I will give it even-handedly and in earnest but with the intent to spur something better out of the artist(on the off chance that they see the write-up). Please send your recommendations of things coming through/from Dallas that I should check out and I’ll try to get them all worked in here. Please, also keep in mind, in the future I will use less run-on sentences, better grammar, paragraph breaks, and a number of basic English rules to make this much easier to read. So, with that, I will say goodbye and hello, and I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Peace,
Daniel