1) You might not get to catch BULLS at the Chat Room on Saturday afternoon, but they’re playing Friday night at Lola’s. Openers include Danny Diamonds (great name!), Wolfs (not a bad name either – funny when said out loud), and Cool Jacket (also a great name). If I had to guess, this is kind of um, throw-back indie rock? Bulls sort of reminds me of Fugazi a little, and Danny Diamonds apparently blends folk, country, and pop, while Cool Jacket references Stephen Malkmus. Expect a lot of reverb and some clever guitar dissonance. Maybe we can call this 21st Century Slack-core? I don’t know. I don’t have a clue about anything. For example, when you search for Danny Diamonds, you find videos about a guy who ran the Marcy projects:
2) Looking for something chill to do on Saturday? How about some reggae on a patio? Pablo and the Hemphill 7 are at the Flying Saucer at 9pm. Fun fact: watching PH7 play the patio at 8.0 (the site of the current Flying Saucer) in 2002 is what inspired me to start a band. If there was a listicle of 50 Classic Fort Worth Concerts, “Pablo and the Hemphill 7 on the 8.0 Patio” would be on it for sure.
3) Before I get going on this one, here’s a public service announcement about the Fort Worth Weekly MAF16 event: you can get a wristband good for both days either at this Ticketfly link or at the designated ticketing station, which, on Saturday, is Shaw’s Patio and Grill on Magnolia; you can also buy a one-day only wristband there on Saturday for $7. On Sunday, the one-day only, $7 wristband is available in the parking lot at Fellowship Church, which is also offering free shuttle services to the venues. That’s really nice of you, Fellowship Church! Saturday’s free parking for the Near Southside shows is in the parking garage on Alston.
Now, if you’re a regular Weekly reader (or a band person), you’re likely aware that this year’s Music Awards Festival has been expanded to two days; Saturday’s venues include the Chat Room, The Boiled Owl, and the Live Oak from 2pm-5pm; shows from 6-10pm are at Shipping and Receiving. The full lineup is found here, so you can plan your racing up and down the street accordingly. But what I enjoy the most about the MAF is catching bands I always seem to miss for one reason or another; maybe I’m working, or I have a gig, or it’s a Tuesday and I ate most of a pizza and can’t get off the couch, but whatever it is, I always end up crossing a couple names off my “been meaning to check ’em out” list. If you want some suggestions (based on an arbitrary, mostly westward trajectory down Magnolia) try WWoes at 2pm at the Owl, Phantom Sensation at the Live Oak at 3pm, then see if you can make it to other end of the block by 4pm to watch Squanto – I would play an iPhone game based on that idea, where you fill your character up with Jameson and then see if they can speed-stagger the half-mile down Magnolia between Lipscomb and Lake Street. As for your 5pm show, it’s a tough call; if you have it in you to walk all the way back down Magnolia from the Chat to the Owl, there’s Animal Spirit (or Katsuk at the Live Oak), or you could just stay there to watch Tame… Tame and Quiet. Book an Uber ahead of time to get you to Shipping and Receiving by 7pm to see the Hendersons.
4) Whew. Tired of reading yet? I hope not, because Sunday’s MAF2016 have even more venues and bands! What you should really do is pick up a copy of this week’s paper, take out the handy show schedule insert, and keep it for later perusal by sticking it into your back pocket, purse, or the band of your Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros floppy hat. If that’s too much trouble, the shows on Sunday are from 4pm to 8pm at the Grotto, Magnolia Motor Lounge, Fred’s Texas Café, Lola’s Saloon, and Lola’s Trailer Park.
Per my earlier “this is what I like most about the MAF” statement, the lineup at Fred’s is tough to beat; if you get there at 4pm to watch Luke McGlathery, then you’ll probably end up staying to watch Vincent Neil Emerson. Maybe you haven’t seen Kevin Aldridge before, and he plays next, so you end up staying for his set, too. Then you realize that Siberian Traps is going on at 7pm, and when they’re done, you’re like, “Well, I’ve been at Fred’s all day, so I might as well see what Reagan James sounds like,” followed by, “Oh, she’s that chick who was on The Voice.”
With the exception of there being a Voice contestant in the headlining slot, it’s pretty much like that at every venue, which is my other favorite aspect of the MAF. You go somewhere to see one band, then get interested in the next one, have a few more drinks, watch the band after that one, and on and on until you’re wobbling around West 7th, trying book an Uber before your phone dies. Luckily, Lola’s and the Grotto are just a few blocks apart, and the same goes for Fred’s and MML – Matt Tedder plays MML at 5 and Holy Moly plays at 7, and I think they’ll be the biggest draws there. Half of the Grotto’s lineup (Shadows of Jets, Gollay, Un Chien) are bands with some member overlap, which is arguably one of the best and most endearing features of Fort Worth’s music scene. As for Lola’s, the Saloon is heavy on hard rock – Pinkish Black is the headliner, and Huffer and Duell are playing there too, but so is Sally Majestic, so really, it’s heavy on people who like to party. The Trailer Park’s lineup starts at 4 with Hightower’s genre-hopping roots rock, followed by R&B group Feletha Black and rapper Kyeyote plus other bands. If you or your band didn’t get named, I’m not slighting you; I just want to point out that there are many, many great bands, and you just have to deal with the opportunity costs of watching one over the other. Pick up the paper thingie with the schedule and bounce around.
5) Into the local music scene but think going to see a bunch of bands amid the crowds of West 7th sounds terrifying and/or awful? You probably already know about Fort Worth Zine Fest 2K16, then. I don’t want to have to explain what a zine is, so I’m not going to. The event is at 1919 Hemphill, and in addition to people selling and trading their DIY art, comics, manifestos, and whatever else local “zine-sters” (I kid! I kid!) enjoy printing, folding, and stapling. There’s live music as well, and a keg next door at 1921 Hemphill (aka Happy Haus), because 1919 has an all-ages, booze-free policy. Music at 1919 starts at 2:30 with Alexandria Rhea, followed by Baby Talk, and then Stevie Hayden. There’s a short film next door at 1921 at 4pm, and the bands resume from 6-9pm at 1919 with the Bralettes, Bitch Bricks, and Collick. This Bitch Bricks video looks like it is on drugs a little bit:
