Friday
For anyone who was on the fence about attending KXT’s Summer Cut music festival this evening, earlier this week the announcement was made that guitar player Chris Walla would be leaving the group he helped make famous, Death Cab for Cutie, after 17 long years. The departure is a big enough deal to make national news, so you almost have everything you need to know about why tonight’s show is a significant one. What else should you know? The band will be joined by other big-name indie pop acts such as Iron & Wine, and the Hold Steady, and I know many grad students (or heck, even a few Ph.d.s) who probably don’t want to miss out on the soundtrack to their glory years. This kicks off early at Gexa, with gates opening at 4:30 this afternoon. Children under 12 are free, as long as mom or dad, or mom or dad’s “new friend” has a lawn ticket.
I may have beaten this horse to death this week, so to speak, but I do encourage you to see Full Gallop at Addison Theatre Center this weekend if you can make the time. I caught a performance on Wednesday, and the combined force of Diana Sheehan’s tireless one-woman push through an endless bounty of beautiful Diana Vreeland quotes is something to behold, if only for the marathon-like pace. One word of concern, however: Do WaterTower Theatre audiences always talk that much? Come on, ladies! I’m trying to pay attention here. We should have a full review from our critic on FrontRow soon.
Saturday
I’ve recently given a lot of thought to the fact that Dallas has never been given the appropriate amount of credit for its occasional forays into the respective worlds of unconventional music, literature, and visual art. Even more obscure might be the fact that D has long had an eye on this sort of activity, and I distinctly remember reading this particular article on the subject as a teenager, nearly 15 years ago. On Saturday an entity (Wordspace) that has kept Dallas culturally literate for two decades will showcase poet Kymberly Miesha Dionne Keaton’s work in Oak Cliff at another one of our city’s treasures, Lucky Dog Books. That event is hosted by Opalina Salinas, who was published in the Anthology of Texas Beat Poets.
Speaking of Oak Cliff, beloved hometown guitarist Rocky Athas, nabbed the lead guitar spot for British blues legend, John Mayall. That kicks off at 7 pm this evening, not in the OC, but at the Granada on Lower Greenville.
Sunday
Finally, it’s a nostalgia fest, once again, at Gexa Energy Pavilion on Sunday, as industrial and grunge pop bands, Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden, will be playing together in Fair Park to close out the weekend. Either band could easily headline the show by themselves, but this should be a very welcome double-dose of yesterday’s hits for the distinguished Gen-X crowd. That’s at 7 pm on Sunday evening.
For more things to do, go here.
