1) Does We Were Wolves know there was a band from here that occasionally still gets together and plays shows that’s called We’rewolves? We Were Wolves are from Houston, so maybe they just never heard. Regardless, they’re in the second slot of a bill at Lola’s headlined by Purple (the East Texas punk ’n roll band fronted by a singing drummer that have built a pretty sizeable fanbase here in Fort Worth), with FOGG at the 11pm spot and Vicious Firs starting the night off at 9:30. This is a pretty solid bill if your Friday calls for powering down Lone Stars and nodding along with hard rock. In my experience, there are few better cures for a soulsucking work week than that! Here’s Purple, a rock band from Beaumont, looking hella tough in a convenience store:
2) As memories of the Where House fade just a little bit more with every passing weekend, it’s good to know that DIY/non-mainstream venue shows are very much alive and kicking. Of course there’s the venerable temple of DIY all-ages, no drunks shows 1919 Hemphill, and its neighbors Happi Haus (next door) and 1912 Club (across the street and north a few blocks) that put shows on regularly, but there’s also this relative newcomer Temple of the Dawg (2625 Frazier Ave). The Longshots debuted their new 7” single at a show there, and I heard it was a total blast, and also appropriately hot and sweaty as a house show should be. The bill there tonight is one you’d probably go see at the Grotto or Lola’s, but I think the intimacy of a small space makes this lineup kind of a must-see: Beat Bums is the outlet of experimental beatsmith/composer Oscar Velasco, Tornup the hip-hop persona of Spacebeach bassist Torry Finley (and DJ Berto G), with the hypnotic grooves of psych-rock trio Siberian Traps opening the night. Show starts at 8, and goes until the bands are done or the cops come. Temple of the Dawg video, dawg:
3) I’m assuming you read this week’s cover story about John Rody, his wife Sallie, and their efforts to launch pirate radio station KFTW 97.5 “The Pirate” onto local airwaves; Saturday night’s show at the Live Oak is the corresponding benefit concert. Besides a lineup of up-and-coming and established local bands (starting with Lindsay Hightower, Cut Throat Finches, Katsük, The Phantom Sensation, Jacob Furr, and anchored by Sally Majestic), there’s a silent auction with some sweet “treasure” and “booty” courtesy local retailers. You’ll have to look up the invite on Facebook for the complete list, but a gift certificate to Fort Worth Cycle Party and some vintage KZEW swag are what would get me scribbling in my checkbook!
4) Head to Deep Ellum on Saturday to watch Fort Worth mainstay Kevin Aldridge and the Appraisers play all night (so probably 9pm to 1am, with leisurely breaks in between) at the Twilite Lounge; besides some new material, the veteran songwriter and his band will dust off some covers and old stuff, which, if you’re a longtime Aldridge fan (like me, for example) makes for an enjoyable trip down Memory Lane.
But reverie aside, if there is a listicle for the top 10 underrated DFW songwriters of the past decade, Kevin Aldridge would probably be my number one spot. His roots come from Tom Petty, the Jayhawks, as well as the pantheon of ’70s AM radio greats. But he also knows the overwhelming power of an overdriven power chord, which makes his band’s live shows something you think about the next morning, when the brunch mimosas start opening up your memory circuits from the night before. That’s how the brain works, right?
5) I’d probably put Sunday night’s Thelma and the Sleaze show at Three Links as the top show this week, but you know, it’s on a Sunday, so it’s way down here. Anyway, this video for the Nashville trio’s “Maria” single should explain why:
Here’s a question: in an era where people are flipping their lids because they skimmed a Facebook headline and concluded that Target had eliminated gender differences once and for all, are we supposed to quit calling bands like Thelma and the Sleaze “girl groups?” I’ll adapt if so, but please, can we just keep it? I know this will sound lazy, but it rolls off the tongue a lot better, and when I type it and read it out loud, it sounds better than “women groups”, of “female groups”, or “all-female trio”, or whatever is the safest taxonomic phrase? If you haven’t noticed, I really rely on alliterations. Anyway, if you skipped the video up there, TATS (hahaha if only they were called Thelma In the Sleaze!) plays entertainingly scuzzy rock ’n roll; there are obvious antecedents to be found in great grunge goddesses of eld, but hopefully bands like TATS have fans young enough to not give a shit about L7 or Liz Phair. Or maybe their fans do give a shit because of Thelma and the Sleaze. Who cares! Street Arabs, and Classic Cult open the show, which starts at 7pm. On the fence? This is what you’ll be missing out on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgh4QHvNRfw
