1) Thursday night at the Grotto (517 University): DDFW Master of the Mic Round 2. Cover is $5 for 21+, and it’s ostensibly more than that if you’re younger. The rap battle starts at 9; here are the contestants:
Beast
Navigator
My two cents: Jason Infinity is a pretty cool name. Wish there was a commercial or something for this event. Oh well. Here’s a video about last year’s finalist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5slFTOuqVXw
2) You can read more about Hint of Death in this week’s Hearsay, including the mention of their CD release at MASS (1002 S Main) on Friday night. If you like Mastodon’s first four albums, their self-titled album will be right up their alley. They go on second, after Programme and before the Me-Thinks. Cover is $10-12, more if you’re under 21. Here they are, from 2013 at the Rail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWaJGy59Rkg
3) Also on Friday: Cut Throat Finches, Venetian Sailors, and LeQube at Lola’s Saloon (2736 6th St). I keep calling CTF “Americana,” but that doesn’t seem like a good description, because the more I hear from them, the more I think they are “rock-oriented.” Per their own website, Dallas-based Venetian Sailors describe themselves as “jangly, folk-rock, infused with pop, country, gospel and blues. With a sound that will have you unknowingly up on your feet and dancing.” LeQube sounds like they’ll appeal to you if you like hearing Death Cab for Cutie after you hear Silverchair or Better Than Ezra on the radio. This is a Cut Throat Finches video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVp4Tn_5C1Y
4) Head to the Sunshine Bar (902 W Division, Arlington) for some noisy Arlingfun on Saturday night – Dallas hardcore band Stealers is releasing a new album called Thin Ice at the show, after the ear-assault from opening acts Antirad and Creepeth. Cover is probably $5, and the show is definitely 21+; it also starts at 10. Here’s what Antirad look and sound like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwg7jO_xpz4
5) If you’re interested in scorching your ears with standup routines instead of distorted chords and yelling, Brian Breckenridge hosts a free comedy show at Dr. Jeckyll’s Beer Lab (2420 West Park Row, Pantego) in Pantego; the complimentary jokes will be provided by Michael Pasvar, Emily Ball, Dante Martinez, Wes Corwin, and David Jessup. Judging by the timestamp on this video, Michael Pasvar has been doing comedy for at over six years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3zBLHMt7w
FULL DISCLOSURE/WRITER BIO ALERT: per editorial suggestion, in addition to writing about music and other shit for the FW Weekly, I am an investor in a venue/bar called Main at Southside, colloquially known as MASS. I also bartend there, as well as the Boiled Owl Tavern, a bar that also hosts shows a few times a month. And, since we’re on the subject of warning you against what may be perceived as my own icky, unseemly self-promotion and/or conflicts of interest, I play bass in the following bands: Oil Boom, Son of Stan, Darth Vato, and maybe, once again in the hypothetical future, EPIC RUINS. Sometimes I talk about one or more of those entities in this space, but I assure you that it has very little to do with my own vested interests; it just happens that the aforementioned venues and bands are part of the Fort Worth music scene, and this music scene is something I care very passionately about, as I have been part of it for the past fifteen years.
