1) Go to MASS (1002 S Main) on Friday night for Trauma Ray, Lake of Fire, Sheverb, and touring electro-punk duo, HXXS. HXXS come from a really shitty part of California (the southern end of the Central Valley), and you can hear the malaise and agitation of that geographic influence in their music. Trauma Ray is a new shoegaze band from around here, and from what I hear, they’re pretty awesome. Lake of Fire is a fictitious place of torture that pastors refer to when they’re trying to frighten children into keeping their virginity, and Sheverb is a psychedelic band from Austin with a “desert noir” vibe – think surf music for a movie set in Arizona or Nevada in which Michael Madsen is a villain and a decrepit gas station is the setting for at least one plot point. This is a HXXS video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWR7FTotfsM
2) Also on Friday: Dead Vinyl and Phantomelo at Fairmount Music Hall (1311 Lipscomb). Dead Vinyl sure cleaned up at the FW Weekly Music Awards, didn’t they? Maybe they should affix one of those panther head trophies to the hood of their van and go on tour, huh? Phantomelo should also go on tour. I bet people in other cities would enjoy their the Smiths/the Cure/Joy Division-influenced sound. Other notes about this show: it’s a good reason for you to check out Fairmount Music Hall. Show is 18+, it costs $10, and doors open at 8pm. Dead Vinyl did Led Zeppelin at Fort Worth Rock Assembly in 2014 and this is a video of their version of “In My Time of Dying”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCJMsF3oDAw
3) Saturday night, go to the Double Wide in Dallas (3510 Commerce) for Mountain of Smoke’s album release – it’s called Gods of Biomechanics, and I wrote about it in greater depth for next week’s Hearsay – which also features Pinkish Black, Duell, and a gritty post-punk band called Pink Thing, which you’ll dig if you’re into Party Static or Bitch Bricks. Show is 21+, cover is $10, and the bands start at 9pm. Do yourself and MOS a solid and pick up a copy of that new record, because it’s a satisfyingly heavy listen that delves deeper into the band’s fascination with both Blade Runner and that film’s source material, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Here’s 10 minutes of a Mountain of Smoke set from a couple years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XEptN5w8ZY
4) Panther City Vinyl has moved into its permanent location on Magnolia (1455 W Magnolia), and the record shop is celebrating with an afternoon grand opening bash that features Tornup rapping at 3:30, Mean Motor Scooter rocking at 4:30, and the Toadies’ Vaden Todd Lewis Possum Kingdoming at 6pm. Show is free, which means you’ll have cash to buy some records! Cool bonus, right? This Tornup video is kinda old, but I still dig it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omriih9Meyo
5) Besides Panther City Vinyl, the 1400 block of Magnolia is also home to another rad new business, Magnolia Skate Shop. MSS’s grand opening party offers free beer with a product purchase, snacks, and a promo video by Hunter Koontz. Then at 6pm, the crowd moves to the Hive (2740 St Louis) for the kind of party that a new skate shop deserves, one that features ramps and the following bands/solo acts: Same Brain, Steve Gnash, Trauma Ray, Sur Duda, Annie Void, and Zach Pack. This party is all-ages, and though I don’t know if there’s a cover or not, Ima go ahead and call it the TEAM TO BEAT SHOW OF THE WEEK. Have you seen Same Brain? They fucking rule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqQENlsyZEk
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, as well as Off the Record, which is a bar/record store that hosts DJs several nights a week. Since I’m on the subject of warning you against what may be perceived as icky self-promotion and/or conflicts of interest, I play bass in the following bands: Son of Stan and Darth Vato.
