According to sources large and small this morning, Morrissey will be making a Dallas appearance at McFarlin Auditorium on his tour through the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico this November, on the 17th. It’s taking every bit of my professionally required composure not to type this in all-caps. Details are few other than, out of the eleven dates on this small tour, three of them are in Texas. I’m sure there are more than a few long-suffering Moz fans around the state who had their day considerably brightened by the news.
The Dallas Morning News’ eponymous Pop Culture Blog, included a truly great review on their site of a Smiths performance at The Bronco Bowl, circa 1986. We’ll have ticket info as soon as it becomes availa-MORRISSEY!
In case you haven’t seen it yet, Neon Indian have a highly believable infomercial to promote the “PAL198X,” an actual functioning synthesizer that can be ordered along with their upcoming record, Era Extraña. If you look carefully, you may notice a couple of new but familiar faces in the group: Former Denton residents Joshua McWhirter and Ed Priesner. The two musicians will be touring as part of Neon Indian’s all North TX-expat lineup, in order to handle the increasingly demanding aspects of the live show. This is due in part to the considerably more complex new record, to which McWhirter contributed.
Priesner and McWhirter played in the now-defunct local groups Fra Pandolf and Last Men, and were involved in all manner of local underground activity, including The Fra House DIY space, and Paperstain Records. The two musicians have also been working on a separate recording project called Sudden Laughter. Neon Indian has an upcoming Gorilla vs Bear-presented show at The Granada on September 24th, and as we’ve said, that site always does an excellent job when it comes to show presentation. FrontRow will have much more soon.
The It List:
Kiwi Sisters/Sextape + Ronnie Heart/Juve/Prism Escape/R9/Raben (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios): Another solid “Free Week” lineup, but especially exciting is the new project featuring video artist, synth designer, and former Undoing of David Wright front-person Lars Larsen along with Betdat’s Oleg Belogorsky and Rodrigo Diaz. The little bit of video I’ve seen so far already displays a deft combination of visual aesthetic with live electronic manipulations.
Diplo (Rio Room): The Rio Room is ending its Thursday Night Summer concert series with just one more big name: Diplo. Diplo is no stranger to this exact location, as he played the same space at a legendary performance when it was still called Suite back in 2007 for you blog veterans, but even played Palladium and Hailey’s before that. Outside of something related to 35 Denton, it’s hard to imagine Diplo at Hailey’s now for some reason.
He’s also appeared in conjunction with two different sporting events being celebrated at Rio Room, an obvious indicator of demand for any DJ. The first was a Super Bowl Weekend appearance with Cee Lo, the second was in honor of Dirk Nowitzki’s birthday.
It’s hard to measure the artist’s impact on popular music, but when you consider his part in launching M.I.A’s career, bringing Brazil’s Baile Funk genre to new audiences, or actually getting people to listen to Chris Brown instead of just gossip about him, it speaks for itself. Note: There is no guest list for this event.
Wild in the streets (Amsterdam Bar): DJ Wild in the Streets will be expertly selecting all of the best dusty old records of yesteryear, as she does every first Thursday of the month at The Amsterdam. Here’s more on her from FrontRow’s writeup last month.
Screening: Anémic Cinéma Presents- Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (Oil and Cotton): Along with Oil and Cotton’s showing of this almost abusively meta “film of a film within a film,” the celebrated space that offers “Best Children’s Art Class” in Dallas will also be giving away “handmade interactive artifacts.” Charmingly appropriate.
Femme de Luxe (Elm Street Bar): “Cocktail attire suggested” at Elm Street Bar? If they’re really offering “complimentary finger food,” as the flier suggests, I’ll wear anything. Featured DJ’s are Sno White, Miss C.J., and Sissy Ross. This is the first night for the event at the very recently reopened club, and it’s free for 21 and up.
Screening: Bandwagon (1919 Hemphill): I had a very odd feeling today, as I realized that I wrote up both the aforementioned Diplo and a screening at 1919 Hemphill in the same post over five years ago. The more things change.
This is presented by “Video Beoom,” which I must say, is one of the worst names for a video series I’ve come across. Their goals are noble, however, as they seek to shed some light on films that were lost in the great home market format change when analog was abandoned. They have even taken the unlikely step of presenting a screening at Spiral Diner, of all places. The movie shown? Blood Diner, of course, in one of the only restaurants where there isn’t a drop of blood in the place. The series’ mission statement:
What is Video Beoom?: Video Beoom (pronounced “Video Boom”) is a group of young fellows exposing the world to movies that haven’t really crossed over to the digital age. Gems you’ll only find in discount bins or garage sells or ebay. We show off the absurd as well as really good movies you’ll just never see on DVD.
This evening’s picture is Bandwagon, a 90’s-centric exploration of the DIY lifestyle that will either make you yearn for or celebrate the end of that still increasingly discussed decade.
For more events, go here.
Image: Morrissey at SXSW in 2006 (via wiki)
