Tonight’s edition of “Thursday Night Live” at Central Market (4651 W Frwy, FW) is a particularly funkalicious one: Denton’s nine-piece funk-jazz-R & B outfit Backside Pick owns the stage 7-9 pm. Americana singer-songwriter Sean Russell opens at 6 pm. The outdoor show is a great way to enjoy the cooler September temperatures that may or may not stick around.
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Backside Pick at “TNL”
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 by Jimmy Fowler“Hold” at Four Day Weekend
Friday, August 27th, 2010 by Jimmy FowlerNorth Texas director-actor-writer Frank Mosley has been busy the last year or so co-starring in other filmmakers’ projects and co-developing a web series. If you want to catch his most acclaimed work so far, take note: Hold –Mosley’s 2009 feature film debut as a director – gets three public screenings this weekend.
The movie, which premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival in April, deals with the slow disintegration of a marriage after the wife is raped during a home invasion, though “sensationalistic” and “sordid” are not in Mosley’s vocabulary as a director. He trades in the kind of lo-fi tension that can only be achieved with a careful combination of wide angles, long takes, minimalist sound effects, and unsettlingly perceptive performances achieved partly though intensive rehearsals and on-camera improv. Call it “eerie realism” if you need to call it anything, but Mosley is unique among young North Texas filmmakers in the scrupulous, humane detail of his work.
There are screenings of Hold this afternoon and Saturday morning at the first annual Glen Rose Neo-Relix Film Festival in Glen Rose, TX. But your best bet to see it will be Sunday night’s (August 29) 7pm screening hosted by The Endeavor Cinema Group in the Four Day Weekend theater at 312 Houston St, FW. Doors open at 6pm. Mosley is scheduled to attend. It’s free, btw.
STEPHANIE RHODES STARS IN FRANK MOSLEY'S UNSETTLING MARITAL DRAMA "HOLD"
Phil Pritchett at “TNL”
Thursday, August 19th, 2010 by Jimmy FowlerTonight’s “Thursday Night Live” at Central Market should be a hot one in every sense of the word: Singer-songwriter-studio wiz–podcast pundit Phil “The World’s Most Fiercely Independent Artist” Pritchett will perform at 7pm at 4651 W Freeway, FW. Americana rocker Greg Schroeder opens at 6pm. Call 817-989-4700 for info.
Ray Bradbury, Sex Machine
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 by Jimmy Fowler
DOES THIS MAN TURN YOU ON?
I was a major Ray Bradbury fan as a kid, and every couple of years when cool autumn weather rolls around (maybe I should say IF cool autumn weather rolls around), I pick up Something Wicked This Way Comes or The Martian Chronicles or Dandelion Wine and just luxuriate in his poetic prose. The fantasist and visionary turns 90 this weekend. If it were up to me, he’d win the Nobel for literature, but so-called genre writers don’t fare so well in such competitions.
I have to say, I never would’ve thought to deliver the tribute that comic writer-actress-Bradbury enthusiast Rachel Bloom offers with her love song ”Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury.” It is, as the kids say, NSFW. (Stay till the end of the tune to hear how she does something wicked with Something Wicked).
Elvis Still Draws Crowd 33 Years After Death
Monday, August 16th, 2010 by Jeff PrinceFans are enduring hunka hunka burning temperatures in Memphis to honor the 33rd anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death at Graceland.
But wait until tomorrow if you really want to commune with the king.
Thirteen years ago I was driving to Huntsville, Alabama and passed through Memphis on a Monday afternoon. I’d never been to Graceland and decided to give it a visit.
The place was barren. I bought a ticket, took a leisurely tour, and got to spend as much time in each room as I wanted without worrying about holding up a line of people. It was great. I stayed three hours, strolled the grounds, sat a long time in the garden, enjoyed every minute, and left feeling completely relaxed. It was a spiritual experience. I never could have gotten to that state of mind if a hundred people had been jostling around me.
On my way out, I told a staffer how much I’d enjoyed the tour and the solitude.
“Where is everybody?” I asked.
“There were tons of people here this weekend for the 20th anniversary of Elvis’ death; they’ve all gone home,” the man said.
So, with that as my guide, I would say tomorrow at 1 p.m. would be a perfect time to visit Graceland if you want solitude.
Ed Smith’s Sweet, Stormy “Blues”
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 by Jimmy Fowler
THE CAST OF JUBILEE THEATRE'S "BLUES IN THE NIGHT"
This week’s ”Stage” page offers an interview with Ed Smith, the outgoing artistic director of Jubilee Theatre. Smith directed Jubilee’s current revue Blues in the Night and is unquestionably responsible for injecting dramatic complexity and a real sense of artistic risk into the seasons scheduled during his four-year tenure.
I’ll never forget his brutal, dream-like, half-tragic and half-lowdown funny 2009 production of The Bluest Eye. North Texas audiences may not get another chance to see August Wilson’s eccentric, rarely staged Gem of the Ocean (directed by Akin Babatunde earlier this summer) for a long time. Replacing Smith will be a tall order.
In honor of Smith, here are performances of some of the standout songs from Blues in the Night by classic artists. Sarah Vaughan does a spinetingling ”Willow Weep for Me”, and, later in her career, a loose and bluesy ”Lush Life,” Smith’s two favorite tunes. (For a somewhat snappier “Lush Life,” check out this Ella Fitzgerald version with guitarist Joe Pass). ”Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” gets a wise and blunt reading by an 83 year old Alberta Hunter. Etta James delivers a smoky, surging rendition of ”These Foolish Things.” And last but hardly least, the great Ida Cox saunters through the important reminder ”Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues.”
A Cautious Victory Dance
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 by Peter GormanUntil this afternoon–Tuesday, Aug. 10–a bitter fight was being waged over a request from Chesapeake to be granted a variance for the location of four natural gas wells between the Como and Ridglea areas of West Fort Worth. A majority of home owners were against granting the wavier needed to drill the wells–needed because the wells were well within the 600′ distance from homes mandated by the city’s drilling ordinance. And Chesapeake was having no luck securing the waivers needed from the people who lived within that 600′ area–despite being said to have
offered up to $7000 per household to obtain them.
So Chesapeake planned to go directly to City Council tonight to simply ask for permission to drill anyway. Which raised the ire of local activists. And certainly raised the specter of the council simply ignoring their own rules.
But surprisingly, in the middle of the afternoon, Chesapeake spokesperson Julie Wilson sent an email to the mayor and other council members respectfully withdrawing their application for the well permits.
A press release by the North Central Texas Communities Alliance sent out shortly after Chesapeake’s email notes that “we want to congratulate the citizens of the Como community as well as the Ridglea/Westridge area for banding together in a strong, unified effort for this success. It shows what informed, caring citizens can accomplish.
“And it proves that citizens who truly care about their neighborhoods can’t be bought off.”
Note to all who are cheering: An application withdrawn can be reinstated at later date. So it may not quite be as over as it appears.
“Friday on the Green” Tonight
Friday, August 6th, 2010 by Jimmy FowlerSure, it’s August in Texas, and that means the weather’s a wee bit toasty outside. But that shouldn’t stop you from catching this month’s edition of “First Friday on the Green,” tonight’s free 7 pm concert at Magnolia Green Park (the 1100 block of Lipscomb between Rosedale and West Magnolia). We can vouch for the greatness of the lineup: Chatterton, Fate Lions, and Quaker City Nighthawks will perform. Also be aware – you can’t bring outside coolers or containers to the park. Concession sales help keep the “First Friday” series free.
Musical Haves, Have-Nots Reflect Society
Monday, August 2nd, 2010 by Jeff PrinceThe separation of rich and poor keeps growing wider in the United States.
Economically, the “haves” are getting richer and smaller in number, while the “have-nots” are growing poorer and larger in number.
Musically, the same thing is happening. Some artists are selling out large venues and hauling in the cash, while others are having to cancel shows or sing to sparse crowds.
Musical “haves” include Paul McCartney (the rich get richer); Lady Gaga (a female superstar whose talent matches her hype); Creed (they’re selling concert tickets at an unheard of price of $20); Roger Waters (he understands the power of mystery and the danger of over-exposure); Taylor Swift (she parlayed that Kanye West insult into career gold, while West fell off the map in a sure sign that karma is alive and well); and Justin Bieber (this kid can’t sing and he’s as boring as sheet rock, but he’ll soon probably outsell Elvis, the Beatles, and Michael Jackson — solid confirmation that the evolution of Idiocracy has officially begun).
Heading up the “have-nots” list are Rihanna (who tried but couldn’t turn a highly-publicized domestic assault situation into a career boost); Lilith Fair (this touring celebration of womanhood is stumbling to an end after dismal turnouts), Christina Aguilera (I love her new album, Bionic, but she’s not really interested in the middle-aged fart demographic — kiddies made her a star, and they’re now dropping her like an outdated jug of warm milk); American Idol summer tour (last season was lame and the wrong contestant won, so the tour is jinxed — haha!); and the Jonas Brothers (I was sad and a little embarrassed about a year ago when I heard one of the brothers tell an interviewer that the band has “a special relationship with our fans and they will never leave us.” I’ll bet Menudo and New Kids On The Block said the same thing.)
John Lennon Mulls Killer’s Parole
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 by Jeff PrinceGood on Yoko Ono for doing what it takes to block parole for Mark David Chapman, the sicko that killed John Lennon.
Fortunately, Lennon’s spirit was gracious enough to give Blotch an interview from the Great Beyond:
Blotch: What do you think about Chapman’s chances at parole and his ability to be reintegrated into society?
Lennon:
Blotch: What’s been on your mind lately up there in the ether?
Lennon:
Blotch: What are your days like, if indeed time is divided into “days” in the Great Beyond?
Lennon:
Chow, Baby didn’t really — maybe a little bit, but not really — expect its
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