1) The last time I went to ACL was in 2009. If you went that year, you may remember it as the one where heavy rains turned Zilker Park’s normally dusty hardpan into a morass of mud and muck that smelled more than a little bit like sewage. If you went, did you get swine flu? Because I sure did! I blame it less on the sewage mud and more on the Arctic Monkeys, but that’s only because I think that band is lame. You probably can’t get swine flu from something being lame, so I guess that’s not really fair to them, but whatever. The only acts that caught my interest the entire time I was there were Girl Talk and the Heartless Bastards, and I only thought Girl Talk was interesting because that guy had a huge crowd completely enthralled by playing snippets of “Sad But True” and “No Woman, No Cry.” It blew my fucking mind in a totally “I wish I’d thought of that!” sort of way. But anyway, noted 2009 ACL standout band Heartless Bastards are bringing their ballsy roots rock to Shipping and Receiving tonight (Friday), along with Austin pop rockers Blue Healer and Gollay opening the show – pretty good support for the headliner if you ask me, but check out this Blue Healer vid and see for yourself:
2) Is there a 2005 Fort Worth Music Scene revival going on right now? First there was that Acoustic Mafia reunion from the other weekend, and now, tonight, there’s a Holy Moly show at the Live Oak featuring Colin Herring as direct support. That kind of bill would have been the main draw on a Friday night ten years ago, especially since Herring was really hitting his stride as a songwriter then, transcending onerous Ryan Adams comparisons with some truly great songwriting. Americana songstress Bonnie Whitmore opens the show, which starts at 9pm. Too band I couldn’t find a Collin Herring video from way back when! This one from January will have to do:
3) Western swing chanteuse Ginny Mac and some of her equally talented friends will be entertaining the crowd on Magnolia Green from 1-4pm on Saturday as part of the 3rd Annual Chili on the Green chili cookoff, a super fun event that benefits Fort Worth South, aka the organization that coordinates all those fun things that happen on the Near Southside at various times during the year. Thirteen teams are competing, and a tasting package costs a mere $10. It’s family and dog friendly. Here’s ’Nsync singing about Chili’s:
4) The Boiled Owl Tavern is the place to be on Saturday night if you like psyche and garage and other reverby things; Bulls kick off a bill at 9:30 that includes Ill Smiths, Tame… Tame and Quiet, and headliners TTotals, a psychedelic rock band from Nashville. It’s a donation-based show, and it’s a great opportunity for local music fans to show an out-of-town band from an important “music city” that this city in Texas that isn’t Dallas actually has a vibrant, exciting music scene.
5) Holy shit, this is a good one: the guy (Yonatan Gat) from Monotonix is playing at the Texas Theater on Saturday! Besides his legendary antics, Yonatan Gat is an incredibly versatile guitar player, so if you go, be prepared to have your mind blown. Seminal Dallas punk band PVC Street Gang, local legends in their own right, are direct support, with Teen Slut kicking the night off at 11pm. Check out Gat shredding at SxSW:
