1) The best show of the weekend is down in the bottom slot, but here’s a good one for Wednesday night: Weaves at Three Links in Dallas, with local support courtesy Bummer Vacation and Narrow Head. A lazy critic’s or publicist’s way of describing Weaves: “…like if Vampire Weekend found some Minutemen albums while crate digging at Burger Records and made their next album sound like such an album would sound like, but with a Canadian sensibility (Weaves are from Toronto) and a soulful female singer.”
Now, no real critic or publicist actually wrote that; I just made it up based on some of their videos. But my impression is that they exhibit a semi-manic, jazzy perfectionist streak (they’re all really great players) and I think my reductive “if X and Y did a Z and a π happened” description type fits pretty well. The singer also has a gorgeous voice and seems to avoid those “indie girl singer” vocal tics I roll my eyes at, which I can easily get behind. Something else I read about them (on NPR, if you’re curious) identified them with the phrase “Toronto-based art-rock group,” so if you don’t know what that means (I certainly do not), you can find out by seeing them in person. Bummer Vacation have a bunch of new songs to play, and that’s always exciting to see. I don’t know much anything about Narrow Head, but saying their name a couple times out loud is kind of funny if you’re high. Actually, I just listened to them; they are from Houston, and they remind me a little bit of the Deftones. Did you click that “indie girl singer” link yet? Do it and then watch this Weaves video:
2) [Editor’s note: This week’s Friday on the Green has been canceled because of the weather] August’s Friday on the Green is headlined by Charley Crockett, with Luke McGlathery and Wayne Floyd in the opening slots. While Nawlins-inspired, throwback R&B artist Charley Crockett is the main draw, be sure to stake your lawn space in time to see Wayne start the night off with his country-leaning Americana songs. He’s worth a listen, and that also means you’ll be there in time to see Luke. Luke McGlathery is legitimately one of the most effortlessly talented, hardest working musicians around here, and even if folk and bluegrass ain’t your thing, I think you’ll still find his music and stage presence enjoyable. No matter what, be sure to hydrate, because outdoor shows in August require that you go the extra mile to be comfortable – maybe even one of those battery-operated misting spray bottles is in order. But also, if you think you’re gonna pass on the show because the heat sounds miserable, think about it how it’s gonna be for the Charley Crockett wearing all those vintage clothes – I sure hope he has a summer ensemble made of breathable fabrics! Do him a solid and make a good showing, because he (and his band, and Luke and Wayne and the folks playing with them) will be up there working hard for y’all. Per usual, the show starts at 6pm, and the music is followed by four film shorts courtesy Lone Star Film Society. Proverbial punch and pie, courtesy area food trucks. Check out this video for “Life Ain’t Hard,” the title track of the album Luke McGlathery debuted earlier this year:
3) Magnolia Motor Lounge steps out of its usual country/roots/American booking predilection on Friday night with a show featuring now Austin-based producer Taylor Tatsch’s prog-pop vehicle, Shadows of Jets, along with RTB2 (aka the Denton Gentlemen) and area rock ’n roll band Dead Vinyl. Needless to say, this bill will scratch your guitar-rock itch from top to bottom – Dead Vinyl seems largely inspired by Zeppelin I and II (though guitarist Tyler Vela’s riffs are distinctly his own, rather than mere homages to Jimmy Page’s hotlixxx), RTB2 frontman Ryan Thomas Becker is a noise experimentalist disguised as a technical shredder, and Tatsch’s arrangements, hooks, and tone keep your ears piqued for the next part of each song. Shadows of Jets played at Shipping & Receiving a couple years ago and someone made this video of one of their songs – Kenny Wayne (The Orbans, Leon Bridges) played the show with them, and that’s always cool:
4) One more for Friday night: Daikaiju at Lola’s, with Sealion, Lizzie Boredom, and the Fluorescents. Daikaiju are an instrumental band playing punk-flavored surf music informed by kaiju movies, particularly the ones where a team of masked super heroes karate a giant monster (aka man in a rubber suit) into submission. They wear masks and they’re a little creepy, and boy do they put on a good show – the last time I saw them, they broke a ceiling fan at the Boiled Owl. In the band’s own words, they are “PREMIUM ACTION HEROES DELIVER MOST HIGH ROCKET ATTACK!!! SPECIAL REVERB SKILL COMBO FOR FULL IMPACT!!! LOUD SONIC BOOM FOR EARFUL PLEASURE!!! BEAUTIFUL RADIATION OF HYPER-DIMENSIONAL SPRINGY SOUND MAKING DIVINE PSYCHIC WIND FOR YOUR SPECIAL DEFENSE!!! Overall, this is a high-energy bill (if you aren’t all sweaty by the end of Sealion’s set, why not? Do you not perspire?), and it’s the first Fort Worth show for Dallas’ Lizzie Boredom, a three-piece punk outfit comprised of two chicks who escaped Classic Cult and the bass player from now-defunct hard rock band Here Holy Spain. Also, when was the last time you saw the Fluorescents? They rock pretty hard, as well. Show starts at 9. Someone should film Sealion at this show, because they need some new videos; here they are at the Kessler from over a year ago:
5) Team to Beat Show of the Week Alert: local female artists are putting on an art and music experience at Shipping & Receiving called Don’t Call Me Baby: An All-Female Art Show Perspective, sub-headed as “paintbrushes against the patriarchy.” As you may have guessed by that verbiage, all artists and most band members participating in this show are female; the event (per the Facebook invite) “intends to empower and raise awareness to its guests about the female experience and perspective through a diverse group of artists’ voices. Moreover, part of the art profits will be donated to local women’s organization Women’s Center. The music piece includes Los Angeles’ (or is it Miami? Their Facebook page claims Miami) punk band Period Bomb headlining a pretty thrilling lineup that includes area art punks Bitch Bricks, Dallas’ Party Static, and The Bralettes, also from Dallas. Music starts at 9pm, and there are food trucks, indoor skateboarding, zines, and over 60 artists showcasing work. This is a Period Bomb video in which they appear to all live in a van:
