Mr. Dallas spoke with owner John Reardon yesterday -- the new downtown champagne bar supposedly will debut this weekend. I swear I don't know where the place is (I've driven by Pearl and San Jacinto and seen... nothing) but MD says it's a little white building between two parking lots, right across from the Westin. Happy sipping. (Hopefully.)
I am. Or at least, I was. (Don't worry, I still love you Cosmo's.) Figured other people would be bored too, so I put together a list today of some fun stuff to jazz up your night out.
On the menu: Roller skating, late-night bowling, a pole dancing party, Play Date (retro board games at a bar!), and hopping a train to Fort Worth. The latter is actually really fun -- the TRE is actually quite chic for a commuter train, and it's always nice when you don't have to drive. The only downside is that the train comes back kind of early -- 10:30 -- but you can still go out more once you get back, unless you drank yourself into sleepiness.
And seriously: Don't drink and roller skate. I know from experience. Not mentioning any names.
Photo of 300 Dallas, which is open until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, by Ben Torres/Al Dia.
Head over to Astronautalis' Myspace page to hear a brand spankin' new track from forthcoming album Pomegranate, recorded rightchear in Dallas. It's coming out Sept. 23. "The Wondersmith and His Son" features the piano-playing of Sean Kirkpatrick and the cello work of Kris Youmans.
Sez Astro's new label, Eyeball Records, in a recent release: "On Pomegranate, Astronatalis, AKA Andy Bothwell, has weaved rich narratives alongside musical textures which call Tom Waits, Pharrell Williams, Beck, DJ Shadow, The Decemberists, and Hunter S. Thompson to a tea party on the evening of the Apocalypse."
Wow, that's some interesting imagery. But the insight into this guy's influences is pretty right-on. There's really no one like him in hip-hop or any other genre.
P.S.: I stumbled on the news of the Astronautalis track while reading a bulletin from Kirkpatrick, who has also posted a new track ("Falling Out of Sync With Time") online. All this sharing warms the heart.
Before I get to the new stuff, Lower Greenville's suffered a string of bar closings, as pointed out by someone on Front Burner yesterday. I went to some of those places (Sidebar, What Bar, Speakeasy) and none of them ever really stood out enough to make me want to go back.
It's sad, but you really need to have a solid idea or concept these days or else no one is going to go and spend money there. Barcadia, for instance, has been packed on recent weekend nights, or so I hear. That place isn't on Lower Greenville, but Zubar and Gezellig are, and they seem to be doing well. Ditto for The Cavern, Kinki Lounge and the Libertine Bar.
You know the economy's getting bad when all the chic hotel bars start lowering their drink prices. This has already happened at The Mansion (Thursday half-off specialty cocktails between 6 and 7 p.m.); The Library Bar (happy hour every day, a different special daily) and now the W Hotel, where they have a new deal called the "4:59 Lounge."
Specialty cocktails are $9 from 4:59 to 6:59 p.m., and small plates are half off. It happens Monday through Thursday. Still kinda pricey, but the regular cocktail price can be $11 to $13, if memory serves. And the cocktails there are pretty good. Or they used to be.
Photo of the Living Room Bar's Fallen Leaf Manhatten by Jason Janik
Pick up today's Quick and you'll see a group of Denton dudes on the cover who play a kind of rock-jazz fusion and call themselves Ella Minnow. Or, you can stay right where you are and click to read the accompanying Q&A with the band's keyboardist/saxophonist, Trey Price. OR, you can just stream the song below and let the music be the message. Up to you, friend.
I stopped into Hal Samples' studio Space last night to catch part of "Thank You," a one-night-only multimedia show put together by young Richardson artists Jordan Fein and Zach Stone. The music created for the show - played on several surround sound speakers placed around the room -- took some cues from Radiohead, but the visuals contributed most to the work's overall beauty. Still frames of nature scenes, random objects, cut-out pictures of hands and feet, and the occasional human were spliced together to create moving images. I'm no art critic, but watching and listening made me think of solitude and how we relate to both living and inanimate objects around us. It was a thought-provoking piece, and it kept most of the hundred or so folks in the room quiet. I had to leave before it ended, but there were still people filing in every few minutes. If that event was any indication, the art crowd in this town appears strong and active.
I had to cut out early to catch the Apples in Stereo's set at Sons of Hermann Hall. The group played at around 11:30 to a crowded house - crowded but still comfortable, I should say.
Dallas Sport and Social Club is sponsoring a happy hour at The Fish, where $5 gets you a ticket for two drinks, and you can eat free sushi appetizers. It's tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m., and expect to hear about the various team sports available through the club.
The press releases are pilin' up! The latest announces the first release on Nova Posta Vinyl, the new record label started by Eric Pulido of Midlake and Robert Gomez. These guys are both excellent musicians, but their first release will be Denton act Matthew and the Arrogant Sea's Family Family Meets the Magic Christian. The text of the press release is after the jump, if you're into those kinds of things. But you'll most likely be more interested in hearing a new song. So here one be.
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, "Pretty Purple Top Hat":
This one will make you want to ooooh and aaaaah along, but it doesn't necessarily flex the folk-rock muscle that some of the other tracks on the new album have. That's OK -- there'll be plenty of time leading up to the October release date to explore the other songs. And, of course, you can hear some of them live on Friday at Club Dada, as MATAS takes the stage with Mom and others.
A friend and colleague forwarded me a press release about Denton dream-pop duo Fight Bite earlier this week, noting that it is a little weird when local acts get outside PR companies to contact local media. But, hey, Fight Bite has more than a few people showing interest in its music. It even has people interested in the motives of the people showing interest in its music. Makes your head spin, don't it?
But I bury the lead: Fight Bite's new album, Emerald Eyes, will see a national release in October, but local fans will be able to get copies of it at shows (the band plays Fra House Friday and the Chat Room Saturday) and at local record stores. Here's a sample, so you can decide for yourself whether Fight has any Bite (and I think it does):
Just got off the phone with John Reardon, the former owner of the Walrus Bar in the West End who's been trying to open a champagne bar downtown for, oh, I don't know... more than a year? But you know how those things go.
He was putting the finishing touches on Joyce back in January. Now, things are really about done, he says.
"If it's not this weekend, definitely next weekend," he says of the grand opening.
The pace of new bar- and club-openings has slowed in Dallas this year. The most high-profile opening so far has been Aura, and that was months ago. If Reardon's aiming for some of that crowd it should be a wide-open market, assuming people want to spend money on champagne.
To get on the list, and for updates and info, text Joyce to 38714. The place is at Pearl and San Jacinto.
From the story, which states that drag queens will be banned on Tuesdays only:
"Drag queens act like they are divas and think they can't do no wrong," [Crews' owner David] Moore said. "They have stolen money straight off the bar, hassled costumers for drinks and locked themselves in the bathroom with a bunch of guys. And with Tuesday being our busiest night, there is just no way for me to keep the draq queens under control then. I don't want draq queens in here that are going to misbehave."
Interestingly, Moore says he can't tell the good ones apart from the bad, because "if a drag queen misbehaves one week and then the next comes back in a different outfit I wouldn't be able to recognize them. That's why I don't want any of them in here on Tuesdays."
There's a protest planned at Crews' tomorrow night at 10 p.m.
What do you think? I sympathize with the owner trying to keep his bar under control, but it seems wrong to me to kick out everyone, including the people who aren't doing anything wrong. Seems like there could be a middle ground here somewhere.
We Shot JR is reppin' dubstep this morning too -- they've got an extensive interview with Jason Mundo, Dub Assembly's founder whom we put on our cover today. There are lots of great details there that I didn't have room to get into in my story.
Also, if you scroll back to last Wednesday, there's a link to a live Dub Assembly mix you can download. It's fun stuff.
Tomorrow's Quick cover story focuses on dubstep, a electronic-music genre that started in London but in recent years has spread, mostly via the Internet, to almost every major U.S. city. Our very own Dallas has two regular dubstep events.
Dub Assembly -- spearheaded by Mundo and Lifted MC, left -- celebrates its second anniversary on Saturday with a bash at the Green Elephant. Absinthe Lounge has also hosted a monthly for the past year or so, courtesy of the local Dub Commission crew. (Shout out to Dragonman for answering my questions so quickly.)
The music can really be anything the producer wants -- hip-hop influenced, grime influenced, techy, sci-fi, reggae -- as long as it's laced with a deep, "nasty," as Mundo likes to say, sub-bass.
The story didn't delve into any influential dubstep artists. But Joe Nice, a Balitmore DJ who's often referred to as dubstep's American ambassador, was kind enough to list 10 for me, for folks who want to learn more.
Here they are in chronological order, starting from dubstep's beginnings in South London around the turn of the millennium:
Ever wonder how to get into the hottest club of the moment, when you're not on the list?
No?
Well, I wrote about it anyway in the paper today. Turns out the biggest problem door guys have is rude people. If you're standing out there in the hot/cold, don't lash out at the door man. It's just going to make him pissed off. (Unless, as I witnessed once, you really ARE a high-paying customer, and damn him for not recognizing you.) If you want to score points, introduce yourself and talk about how cool the place is supposed to be.
Also, never say these things:
1. You're not letting me in because I'm [insert ethnicity here.]
2. I'm with the Dallas City Council and I'm going to revoke your license!
3. This is Dallas. This isn't L.A. This is Dallas!
4. I know [name of man who runs the club]. (Sometimes the owner is the guy staring right at you.)
Photo of unnamed partygoers carousing at Dolce by Jason Janik
If you haven't noticed, 99 percent of the DJs in this town are guys. (Same goes for club-owners, but that's another story.) I hadn't really thought of the local women as a group before until I stumbled on this article yesterday -- it's from the Observer, written by Shannon Sutlief in 2005.
Even though the article's three years old, it's still an in-depth look at who these DJs are and what they go through simply by being women in a male-dominated industry. (One woman, Ronin, had a door man almost turn her away because he didn't believe she was a DJ.) Many of the women mentioned in the article are still playing now -- Wild in the Streets, DJ Tiger Bee, Kelle Marie.
Unfortunately I've only thought of a few other names of people who may have started spinning since the article came out -- Storm-E, who's pic is shown above, SnoWhite, and a new DJ I saw spin recently named Jecho. I guess it's slow-going to get new female talent in the booth.
If there happen to be any female DJs out there reading this: Have things changed? Why aren't there more women DJs?
When Carter Albrecht was killed last September, his band Sorta was close to finishing sessions for a new album with local engineer Stuart Sikes. This set of songs would be the country-rock band's fifth full-length release. But it was understandably put on the shelf while Albrecht's bandmates and closest friends dealt with his loss.
It appears now that the guys are ready to let these songs be heard, as they recently announced on their Web site that the new album will be released in September. It's called, simply, Sorta, and while there was some work done on the songs after Albrecht's death, the recordings of his parts weren't touched.
I had the pleasure of speaking to Steven Collins from the band Deadman about new album Severe Mercy, which hit online stores late last week. Check out the article here.
Since releasing the stellar Our Eternal Ghosts album in 2005, Steven has parted ways with wife and bandmate Sherilyn and moved to Austin from their former home in McGregor. The new record serves as a sort of break-up album for him. Here's a taste.
Today's DMN has a frightening story about William Sedric Autrey, the former owner of Club X, which used to sit up at Belt Line and the Tollway. I wrote about the place right after I took this job in 2006, and it tried really hard to be swanky. Celebs stopped by -- including Brit and K-Fed -- and there were three VIP areas. (In an era when that was new.)
In the end, it didn't really matter, because few people showed up. The place closed after barely five months.
The frightening part: Police say Autrey and a band of accomplices used the club's guest list as a way to find potential home invasion victims. From the story:
"The patrons that came in, they would start conversations with them, run their license plates, check them," Dallas police Detective Duane Boy said Monday at a news conference called after the group's criminal exploits were detailed in The Dallas Morning News.
Some moneyed guests ended up targets of the gang's at least 70 North Texas home invasions, police said. Some of those victims were beaten and tortured until they revealed the location of their valuables or cash.
This blows my mind. Bottle service is everywhere in this city, but can you imagine it being a tip-off for burglars? Just makes you question how much information you're giving out and whom to trust. Does being on a ritzy email subscription list make you a target, too? Or showing up to a VIP event without knowing who's throwing the party? Scary.
Photo of Club X shortly after it opened by Brian Harkin/DMN
I was chillin' at the Meridian Room last Thursday, awaiting my turn at the mic on Scaraoke night, when from some back room emerges a heavy-set guy who steps up to perform ... shirtless. "Ugh," I thought -- "why's homeboy shirtless?" But as his song proceeded and he stepped out from behind a wall that was partially blocking my view, I realized this guy was completely naked! Just as shocking as that was the fact that no one outside of my immediate area seemed all that surprised, even as Naked Karaoke Guy worked the crowd. I think someone even joined him on stage to perform! (Sadly, I was the next person to perform -- how was I gonna top that?)
Then I learned on Monday that this guy's a semi-regular at a coupla karaoke spots! Karaoke lovers, have you seen NKG? Let me know! I wish I could post my photos, but they're a tad inappropriate.
I'm kind of late to the news on this, but apparently controversy's been swirling over whether Erykah Badu is pregant again.
Young Black and Fabulous reported last week that "sources said" Badu was expecting her third child with producer Jay Electronica. The Okayplayer message boards then blew up with a lot of negative responses over the fact that the children would have three different fathers.
I haven't waded through all the original responses (there are tons, so this would take forever), but Badu was miffed enough -- actually, she sounds really hurt -- to send a long, scathing reply. The subject title: "Pregnant with insults."
Was driving by Cafe Italia in the Bishop last week when I noticed that Cafe Brazil is just about to open there. Whaaa? I didn't even know Cafe Italia closed. That's what happens when you move out of Oak Cliff.
Seems to me like a great addition to the neighborhood. I love homestyle breakfast spots. (My other fave, El Jordan, is just across the street.)
You want it raw, huh? Here's what I wrote down in my li'l notebook during last night's George Michael concert/disco party at American Airlines Center. More thoughts later.
SETLIST:
"Waiting (Reprise)" -- He sang this from backstage, no doubt while getting the final touches on hair and makeup. But the stage is awesome -- one huge vertical screen in the middle and two on the sides, with openings that reveal three levels of band members.
"Fastlove" -- From a door in the middle screen, he appears. He dances in that Georgely way. The entire crowd jumps to its feet at the song's halfway point. Sitting down is not an option.
"I'm Your Man" -- Holy *&@#, he's doing the Wham hits!
"Father Figure" -- He's now surrounded by his backup singers. They and the crowd are helping him with the high notes he can't quite hit. But there aren't many of those.
"Hard Day" -- Album track from 'Faith'? Don't remember it that well.
"Everything She Wants" -- Wham-a-licious. Crowd is the most excited it's been all night. These are some '80s freaks up in here.
"One More Try" -- Backup singers surround him again, this time for some gospel. Lovin' it.
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" -- the point at which he reminds us how skilled a vocalist he is. That doesn't mean that all of us aren't ready to dance again, soon.
"An Easier Affair" -- He knew we wanted to dance again.
"Too Funky" -- There's footage from the video up on the big center screen. It reminds me of a time when Tyra Banks wasn't annoying. Sigh.
"Star People" -- Another one I don't remember that well.
--INTERMISSION (During which I spot at least three Pizza Huts in the span of 5 minutes)--
"Faith" -- He's doing the dance moves he did in the video. I called my friend to let her listen. "THE SOUND IS AMAZING OMG," she texts later.
George tells the house, "So far you are the best #$%ing crowd I've had." That's what you get from your adoptive hometown, sailor.
"Spinning the Wheel" [nothing written; don't know why.]
"Feeling Good" -- Michael Buble would never put a burlesque dancer with teeny-tiny pasties on the big screens during this song. That's what makes George different.
"Roxanne" -- A jazzed-out version of the Sting classic. Not sure how I feel about this.
"Kissing A Fool" -- I KNOW how I feel about this. [Swooning.]
George blames the air conditioning on the fact that he can't hit some of the high notes, but agrees that a.c. is a must in Texas. Glad he's not a diva like Tom Waits.
"Amazing" -- a celebration of gay marriage (and a subtle call for drunken females to dance their asses off at concert arenas).
"Flawless" -- Nice beat.
"Outside" -- George suddenly appears in a sparkly cop uniform, complete with handcuffs dangling from his waist. Disco ball lighting. Bananas.
ENCORE 1: "A Different Corner" and "Careless Whisper." The latter is an all-out singalong.
ENCORE 2: George asks the crowd what it wants to hear for the final tune. There's no question about what they want. "FREE-DOM!" they chant. And he delivers.
I won't dilly-dally here: I already told you that a Picnic-produced mixtape for the upcoming Kixpo sneaker convention was on the way. Well, it's here, and it's free. Says Picnic:
Back again with Deadstock' Official Kixpo Mixtape...2008 edition. Just thought you shoe fanatics might be interested in checking out some free music... and this isn't just a single.. it's 24 tracks of straight heat. Hosted and mostly produced by me(Picnic), and mixed by my homeslice DJ Niro, your bound to find something you can roll to, skateboard to, party to, or whatever you do. It's laced with a bunch of exclusive Metroplex based music with a worldwide sound. This year's edition features artists like Strange Fruit Project, Headkrack, Verbal Seed, Paul Wall, Max Moon, Dawg Wonder, Knesesary, Mes the Jive Turkey and a bunch of other friends of mine. Its IPOD ready and well-worth the download... TRUST!!.
I'm likin' the Dawg Wonder track. Oh, and that Picnic-meets-Astronautalis song that you all have been streaming like crazy? It's on this compilation.
Click here to download, or visit Picnic's site to get the file. Front cover above, back cover with track listing after the jump.
Just got an email from reader Guy S., who gushed about Rolling Rock's Rock Green Light. It's only 83 calories, he writes, and it doesn't have that "watered down taste the major brands have." (For more opinions, go here.)
He says he found it at Tom Thumb, but that Kroger stocks it too.
Just got an email that says he'll be at Cirque (the old Club Blue location, downtown) this Saturday.
Bun B, Vic, Gemini, M-Dot, Lil Shine and more are also scheduled to appear. Doors at 9. I have no more information, but if you go, show up with plenty of cash.
I'm writing about the West End Pub for this week's column, which has a free -- free!! -- happy hour buffet from 4 to 7, M-F. Among the offerings are hot dogs, nachos, chicken nuggets, etc. The selections change based on the day.
It got me to thinking: What are the best bar foods to have with a tall, cold glass of draft beer? I'm talking little nibbles here. Something you can fit on a saucer, or eat in one or two bites.
Here's my list. Let me know what's on yours!
1. Chili-lime peanuts. When I was in Mexico City, we had these everywhere, often times for free if you'd ordered a beer. More bars around here need to jump on the bandwagon. We are in Texas, no?
2. Olives. I'm not talking the gross pimento-stuffed kind from the jar, but real Spanish olives with the pit inside, people. The kind with a faint sheen of olive oil still clinging to their green, meaty skins. God, I love them.
3. Pizza. A no-brainer. Preferably thin crust, cut into small pieces and covered with pepperoni and jalapeno. My fave pizza-and-beer is from Louie's.
There's been an abundance of down-home music hitting local listeners' ears lately, from the Theater Fire's surprising new CD, to the A.M. Ramblers' old-school bluegrass, to Doug Burr's country-gospel project (see post below). And this weekend will see the release of the new album from Denton collective Pinebox Serenade, a seven-piece group that works from a bluegrass formula but throws marimba, cello and accordion into the mix as well.
You can sample four songs from new CD Let the River Take Them Home and also find out how to pre-order the disc here. My personal fave at the moment is "The Plains," on which group member Nick Foreman (also of the brilliant Dust Congress) sings lead. If you like what you hear, head to Dan's SilverLeaf in Denton on Saturday night for the big release show.
He's a bartender at a restaurant in Eugene, Oregon, and he blogs about what he's buying, cocktails he's excited about, etc. A lot of his information is really consumer-friendly. (In "The Do's and Don'ts of Mojitos," for example: Don't use golden rum.) Plus the photography is pretty stunning, too.
Coppell native (and current Berklee student) Emily Elbert drops a jazzy, acoustic version of Michael Jackson's hit on the YouTube world. I'm likin' it. Your thoughts?
These songs get their lyrics from biblical Psalms, so don't be surprised if you find yourself questioning them and exploring your own beliefs. I think that's one reason Burr did the project -- not to preach, but to show with music how much weight these words carry in his life. That makes the music interesting, even if you aren't particularly religious.
What also makes it interesting -- at least in the song I'm going to play you -- is the way Burr sings. He evolves from the whisper-folk of last album On Promenade to a riskier vocal style. It's louder, it's less controlled, and it's somehow more rewarding. And that choir at the end? Goosebumps.
Doug Burr and friends, "The Righteous Will Rejoice":
There's no release date planned for the Psalms album -- called The Shawl -- just yet. But Doug's next local gig is July 31 at Central Market in Fort Worth.
Jessimo apparently skipped all the local Fourth of July festivities -- a Plano-dwelling reader and family man (who shot the pic above) says he spotted our favorite local celebrity couple munching on tacos at Budd and Alley's Taco Bar in Seaside, Florida.
The reader reports:
We sat next to them, and I tap Jess (first name basis now ya know) on the right shoulder and show her my Plano marked ID and say, "What are the odds a family from Plano and you being from Richardson with Tony would be eating tacos side by side in Seaside on July 4th? Wouldn't you rather be at ZaZa by the pool instead of having to endure" (what by then became a steady stream of young girls and families requesting to take photos with the couple?)
Jess giggled at my comment, and said "ZaZa is great, but it doesn't have a beach." I then chit-chatted and asked if she attended the parade, which she said they had not seen because they had just landed. We talked briefly about the city and the cool scene and awesome beaches, and that was that.
The crowds then got to be too much, and the duo took their margs to go.
Even better than music blogs? Musicians' blogs. I especially enjoy the ones that provide some sort of insight into the process of music-making (considering how totally played it is to ask during an interview, "So, what is your music-making process?")
The brand-spankin'-new blog maintained by the two members of Denton's Mom looks as though it'll be pretty insightful. Check it out. And while you're surfin', here are a few more good'uns from the local scene (some updated more than others).
SARAH JAFFE: Posts aren't even semi-regular, and we're still waiting to hear about Sarah's time at last week's Wireless Festival in London. Nonetheless, her blog's an entertaining mix of personal photos, diary entries and random YouTube vids.
SALIM NOURALLAH: He puts it all out there in his lengthy entries -- things that annoy him, things for which he's thankful, music he's making and music he's loving. Thoughtful stuff.
PIKAHSSO: If he's thinkin' it, he's MySpacin' it. And the inside of this guy's head is an interesting place.
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