0) Odd Future founding member Tyler, the Creator probably doesn’t need any introduction, but the short story version: he’s this prodigy from the Los Angeles area who taught himself to play piano at 14, self-released a critically acclaimed mixtape at 18, then formed a massively popular hip-hop collective after that. The group blew up almost instantly, which allowed Tyler the freedom and means to dabble in everything from more rapping, producing other artists, and starting a clothing line, to graphic design, directing videos, and even launching his own streaming service. Last August, at the ripe old age of 26, he released his fourth album. Called Flower Boy, the record shows a comparatively mature Tyler contemplating grown-up things like his career’s present and future, as well as boredom and blowjobs. In an email, his publicist drew attention to his new show on Viceland called Nuts + Bolts, the two new shoe designs he dropped with Converse, as well as several new collections on his GOLF clothing label. I agree with you, PR person! Tyler did indeed have an extremely busy 2017! Anyway, for all that, his music is entertaining and he has a cool voice and hypnotic beats, and he’s playing the Bomb Factory Thursday night. Tickets are OOPS! IT’S SOLD OUT! Sowwy! You can still click this link to look at his shoes, though you can’t buy them, because they too are sold out. At least the following video is available for your consumption! But since you’re here, why not keep reading to learn about some of the other stuff going on around town this weekend?
1) Go support Fort Worth’s comedy scene at Friday night’s Laugh Your MASS Off comedy show at MASS (1002 S Main), headlined by Mishka Shubaly. You can read more about this in this week’s Hearsay; I recommend getting there by 9 pm when the show starts because the opening comic is Mike Wiebe of the Riverboat Gamblers, and if you’ve ever seen his antics as the frontman of a punk band, surely you’ll be interested in how it compares to him doing standup. JT Habersaat is in the middle of this laugh sandwich, and he is also a hilarious punk rocker. Show is 18+, cover is $5. Here’s a Mishka Shubaly bit:
2) Also on Friday: bands at the Boiled Owl (909 W Magnolia), the Beat Bums, Joe Gorgeous, and Siberian Traps. Beat Bums is a one-man, loop-magic operation from Nashville-by-way-of-Chicago. Joe Gorgeous and Siberian Traps are local bands you should be already be familiar with. Free, though there’s a tip jar for the bands and each of them has merch for sale. Beat Bums is pretty rad:
3) Oh here’s a DJ party on Friday: DJ Rikki Don’t provides the jams for a party called Boogietines Day hosted by rapper Sage Mode Wrex at FW Blackhouse (1105 Peach St). It starts at 10 and it’s 18+; cover is between $5 and $10.
4) There’s a big, all-day event on Saturday at MASS called Fair Fest, organized by the Men of Fairmount Facebook group to benefit De Zavala Middle School’s music department. Fair Fest opens at noon and boasts a robust roster of 13 bands, starting at 1pm with Jacob Furr. A sampling: songwriter Simone Nicole at 3pm, Dome Dwellers’ Michael J. Slack at 5pm, piano man Andy Pickett at 7pm, pop punks Meach Pango at 9pm, and recently debuted, observational comedy rapper Naaman at midnight. Cover is $10, and the charity’s goal is to raise $5000 for De Zavala; ever dollar after that goes to the Can’d Aid Foundation, a national charity group that is planning an upcoming program that helps out underprivileged kids in Fort Worth. Have you seen the video for Andy Pickett’s “Floral?” Here it is either way:
5) Another thing you can do on Saturday: Oil Boom at the Twilite Lounge (212 Lipscomb). See the disclaimer down below, but the area rock band will be performing two sets, which will feature music from the most recent two albums, as well as a crowd-pleasing (and appetite-pleasing) song they haven’t played in a few years. Show is free and 21+. Also, if someone says “I love the frozen Irish Coffee at Twilite Lounge,” and you have to make a point to wrinkle your nose or shake your head in dismay and say something to the effect of “Too bad it’s not an authentic one from New Orleans,” geez Louise and sheesh to the max. Because I have expressed delight at that bar’s take on such an apparently legendary and cherished beverage, and I have heard that reply from several different people. MAJOR EYE ROLL! Anyway, enjoy this Oil Boom video that Squanto made:
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.
