1) Thursday night at Hyenas Comedy Club (425 Commerce) is the Eric Nadel Benefit Blowout, a charity concert featuring Luke Wade and Grady Spencer and the Work. The money raised from tickets, donations, and a silent auction will go to Focus on Teens, a Dallas-based organization that helps homeless teens in DISD and Fort Worth ISD make it through school by providing them with on-campus drop-in centers, where they can get food, school supplies, work on homework, or decompress before their day starts. Nadel, who’s been the voice of the Texas Rangers for the past 40 is MCing the event. Admission is $28, and you can buy tickets in advance here. If you miss the Orbans, Grady Spencer will fill your void nicely:
2) Friday, January 26 at the Kessler Theater in Dallas (1230 W Davis), comedian/writer/film critic Joe Bob Briggs is doing a show entitled “How Rednecks Saved Hollywood,” where he’ll narrate and discuss clips of pirated exploitation films. The Dallas-born, Arkansas-bred host of the classic, cable-aired, B-movie programs of yesteryear (aka the ’80s and ’90s) Drive-In Theater (on TMC) and Monstervision (on TNT) might seem a little boner-brained in the #metoo era, seeing as how he was famous for evaluating trashy cinema by the number and type of sex scenes and overall boobage factor. But boy did I love Monstervision when it was new, and Joe Bob Briggs’ fast-talking-hillbilly-Norm-MacDonald charm will probably still wear down even the stiffest upper lips into begrudging smirks. Tickets are $16 in advance, $18 at the door. Here’s a video of Joe Bob Briggs’ “Dusk to Dawn Friday the 13th Marathon” from Monstervision:
3) Hands down, Acid Carousel is one of the best bands around, and I hope they’re able to transcend the DFW bubble and make a career out of their tightly played, harmony saturated, psychedelia. They’re young, talented, and driven, and they’re playing at the Ridglea Lounge (6025 Camp Bowie) on Friday night, probably for a tragically paltry amount of money. Do yourselves and them a favor and come to this show, which is headlined by another local heavy-hitter who deserves your attention, rapper 88 Killa, who, by all rights, should be headlining a place like the Bomb Factory. Not to get pedantic or scold anyone, but if you, as a fan, want Fort Worth’s music scene to be less insular and more recognized by the outside world, you should get behind both of these acts, as they overlap with the Dallas-scene despite their respective home addresses. Dallas-based garage rock trio the Bralettes open the show, and they’re another act you oughta root for – if you’ve ever been into the Dum Dum Girls, these women are in your wheel house. Also, kudos to booking diverse bills like this. Cover is $8. This 88 Killa video is a couple years old, but it’s still pretty ferocious:
4) One more for Friday: Arlington hard rock legends the House Harkonnen are making a rare appearance at Three Links (2704 Elm, Dallas), with the Virgin Wolves and Slow Seers opening the show. House Harkonnen is heavy and furious, fueled by booze, and their punishing, exacting guitar attacks make me think of Terminator endoskeletons armed with battle axes, methodically slaughtering the human race. Cover is $10. Roll the dice on this D&Deified House Harkonnen video:
5) Here’s your show for Saturday: the Chat Room has “teknopunk” act Teen Slut headlining with anxiety attack machine All Clean in the middle and post-punk prodigies Sub-Sahara (another Dallas-based favorite I caught on to last year) opening the night. Here’s what you’ll be getting into if you fuck with Teen Slut:
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 at 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. 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 since 2002.
