I have yet another new music festival to mention to you, before the weekend can properly begin. The debut of the Pegasus Music Festival, will take place on June 21st, at Grand Prairie’s Verizon Theatre. Not even a single act has yet to be announced. The full lineup will come on February 17th, and meanwhile I’m sifting through the font for clues. No overtly Western-themed, wood burning letters are anywhere to be seen, so at least that. I’ll have more news as it’s available. Here’s to hoping I can sit in on a meeting of Grand Prairie’s top brass, as I did in Plano earlier this month, when they discussed their upcoming inaugural festival.
FRIDAY
“The Party” (It’ll Do Club): I mentioned this show early in the week, as one of the top upcoming events, and I’m sticking by that. As I’ve stated too many times, I’m not a huge fan of nostalgia, and I’m even a little wary of reunions, but this is one for which I’ve pined, and for some time. This week, it was actually a Dallas Observer live review from 2008 that made me long even more for those magical years, roughly between 2006 to 2008. That still stands as the most unified I’ve seen the local music scene in my adult life, at least as far as turnouts were concerned. We didn’t necessarily get along in blog comments, but people did show up, at least to have something to argue about on Monday morning. Here’s an excerpt that captures the scene at the time:
Everyone was there–from all different spectrums of Dallas culture: skate-hop kids, skaters, hipsters, frat boys and even the confused Uptown crowd that was wondering where the red velvet rope was.
The writer seems shocked, but that’s how pretty much every Party event was. But my glowing nostalgia high was then rudely interrupted with a record scratch-accompanied gaffe in the following paragraph:
Their opening set was a little inconsistent during the first part of the show: They’d get the crowd in their hands, playing classic cuts like Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” and then they would transition into a song that left the crowd listless and looking around, checking out everyone else. Then they would break into another classic joint like Tribe Called Quest’s “Oh My God” and get the crowd hyped and moving again, only to have their momentum again slip away with a bad crowd read.
In other words,when the Party played a big hit the writer knew, they were good. When they did their own thing, it’s a bad read of the crowd. So, not everyone in the media really understood the Party at the time, and that’s okay. The people certainly did. But that’s not the Party I remember. The collective had an encyclopedic take on the 10,000 new mp3’s-a-second speed at which music was moving in that era. They imposed their will on the crowd with a collection of international records or by bringing in stateside DJs such as Roxy Cottontail, who might not have otherwise been playing The Loft. Each show was an education, sprung from the endlessly searching minds and ceaseless attention spans of Sober, Select, and Nature. If it needed to be further understood, the group also conducted an informative blog at the time, for Central Booking, the entity that they also ran. The freedom they exhibited from behind the DJ booth was obvious to the audience, and that audience reacted in kind. There was never a wilder, happier, crowd. It will be a privilege to see them again.
They’re playing at Boondocks in Houston tomorrow as well, and I’m fairly tempted to drive down there and experience that historically good time as well.
Pleasant Grove/Crushed Stars (The Kessler): The Crushed Stars are celebrating the release of their new record, which I told you about, earlier in the week.
Pinkish Black/Bludded Head/Terminator 2/Prisons (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios): Note that the band, Prisons, has replaced Drug Mountain, who were originally scheduled to play. That somehow makes this an even noisier show. Nevada Hill’s Peter Saville tribute for the show flier is particularly inspired.
“Friday Night Live 2.0” (Hailey’s Club): Featuring DJ Spinn Mo and Chris “AV the Great” Cole.
“Dropclock Monthly Dance Party” (The Green Elephant): You may be used to seeing Colly T alone at Beauty Bar, but this evening he’ll be joined by his associates, Doob, and Slightly, for Dropclock’s reinstated monthly.
Other Friday events that you should attend—
Codetalkers/Enthusiast/johnwayneisdead/Anger House (J & J’s Pizza on the Square)
“Disco Mystics” (The Outpost): Featuring George Quartz and Gabe Mendoza.
Secret Lover/The Chloes/Joel Miller (The Crown and Harp)
SATURDAY
“F*ck You, ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI” (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios): Even though Rubber Gloves has been a place that often sympathizes with the more obscure forms of expression from all over the planet, it has still been a constant target of the music publishing companies. They are somehow convinced that a lot of big-name acts perform here regularly and that the PA must be blaring the latest hits. In order to pay some of these dues, the venue has now established a willful all-covers night, a practice they once banned completely.
Tonight’s bands include The Savage Beatles, who will perform from the Beatles’ earlier Hamburg period; Lou Weed, which will tackle the Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, obviously; and The Holophonics, which is a general cover band.
I’ve heard a version of “Venus in Furs” by some of the musicians involved, and it’s loose but memorable. It’s actually a very fitting tribute, especially if you consider how many disciples followed the Velvets’ noisey lead into the void in a similar manner.
Sarah Jaffe/Sam Lao/Zhora (The Granada): As of earlier today, the Granada Theater claimed that there were “less than 100 tickets left” to this show. That should surprise nobody, my guess is that this will sell out. It still takes some getting used to upon seeing press for this show, that Eminem’s newest album keeps being mentioned in the previews, which is due to the impressive fact that Jaffe contributed to a track on the record with her Dividends project.
That brings me to another somewhat related subject: I was recently waiting in line to check out at Whole Foods, and I noticed that Eminem’s new album is currently sold in a little but conspicuous impulse display on checkout counters at Whole Foods. I found that curious for someone notorious for such hyper-offensive lyrical content. Now, those words don’t offend me, and I’m all for rappers saying pretty much whatever comes to their mind when they’re working, lest we stifle the creative process. I find the country to be all too conservative on this subject, even those supposedly anything goes millenials. But what I’m wondering is, what other rapper with an album this profane has had his entire album sold at a family-friendly grocer like Whole Foods. Did they sell Yeezus at Whole Foods? How about Acid Rap? Just wondering what makes Em so special. By the way, since we’re on the subject, D12 is coming back.
Glamorama (Beauty Bar): It’s Blake Ward’s birthday, and DJ birthday events are always rather active, so beware.
Other Saturday events—
Sealion/Cliffs of Insanity/Toy Gun (Three Links)
SUNDAY
“Stoked” (The Crown and Harp): In which, DJ Red Eye plays a self-described set of “120 Minutes Style 80s Alternative. This monthly is held during the actual timeslot when the beloved mainstream/underground music video hybrid aired, for extra authenticity.
For more to do this weekend, go here, and here.
Image: Two-thirds of The Party, performing in March 2008. From left to right: DJ Sober, and DJ Nature. Credit: Sally Glass.
