This time of year, and particularly this weekend can really sneak up on you as far as the arts are concerned. Just when you think the brunt of festival season is over with March, you realize that really only applies to music, and really only to Denton and Austin. April brings an overwhelming amount of activity to Dallas proper, including the newly christened Dallas Arts Week, the in-progress Dallas International Film Festival and this insane weekend where they collide. Peter Simek has done an excellent job of covering both, and I’m not just saying that simply because I’m past deadline. A few key points before we get to the list of shows this weekend:
First and foremost, please go see Seattle’s Dr. Troy aka Troy Wadsworth at Zubar tonight. Wadsworth originally hails from Wichita Falls, where many a locally respected musician has roots, and as such, Wadsworth was originally a big influence on our own Wanz Dover, who is known for the depth and breadth of his knowledge.
Dr. Troy—who really is a blood doctor specializing in internal medicine and hematology in Washington State—runs the truth-in-advertising reissue label Medical Records, and it’s one of those boutique imprints where you can confidently shop by the name of the label as opposed to the artists. Dr. Troy has gone from being regionally influential to internationally influential due to the success of his label, where he has made available works by everyone from the Italo Disco pioneers Alexander Robotnick and Gay Cat Park to the French electro-pop of Mathematiques Moderne. Whether or nor you’re familiar with these names, the impact that these artists have quietly had on so much of what has happened in music, and specifically what is happening in it right now, can not be overstated. Wadsworth has done a huge service to the hidden truth of the history of underground and popular music by making these records available again, and in some cases, for the first time ever. Even though they’re reissues, I find myself screaming inside when I run across one of these gems while shopping. I buy one for a family member if I can. I hate to be so unabashed, but Medical is that good. Be well. Brian Bishop, Gina Garza, Jack Dover, Rick Simpson, and of course, Wanz will also be performing at Zubar this evening.
Secondly, tomorrow is the beginning of Tape Mastah Steph’s new monthly, “Funkology.” It’s a collaboration between the Neva Dug Disco collective and the Artist Collective, with the latter nearly single-handedly reviving Lower Greenville’s nightlife in a time where it had been almost completely written off. I suppose I moved back from Oak Cliff at the right time. Lucky me, and well, lucky you. The night will feature classic funk and disco, along with “rare grooves, hip hop, 80s, electro, [and] instrumental beats,” according to Tape Mastah Steph, and will act as a tribute to the late Quick Chris, who tragically passed away last month after battling lymphoma. The reverent event will take place on the second friday of each month, upstairs at Crown and Harp.
Finally, if you were a Jack With One Eye fan in the time that they were active around Dallas, mainly in the mid-to-late Aughts, you will be glad to know that singer and guitarist Mila Hamilton has a new group and they’re making their debut in Denton on ̶F̶r̶i̶d̶a̶y̶ Saturday. They’re called Frauen and they sound appropriately as dark as you might expect, but they’re also one of the more interesting local bands to which I’ve been exposed in some months. I’m not at all surprised however. The show is at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios.
Here are the rest of the events that are worth a damn this busy weekend:
THURSDAY
New Fumes/Datahowler/Summer of Glaciers/Juve (Hailey’s)
The Days/Glen Farris (The Patio in front of The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House)
“Hip Hop Karaoke” (The Crown and Harp)
“Big Bang” (Beauty Bar)
Power Trip/Expire/Alpha & Omega/Twitching Tongues/Antagonist AD (Club Dada)
Dick Dale (Trees)
FRIDAY
“Wax Addicts” (Circuit 12): Featuring JT Donaldson, Tony Schwa, and Tyrone Smiley.
Def Rain/Peopleodeon/Cutter (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios)
Good for You/Greg Ginn & the Royal We/Ten Can Riot (Club Dada):
“Less Than Zero” (Ten Bells): This 80s-themed event features DJ Mudi.
SATURDAY
Uriah West/Josh Kynd/Brian Bladridge (Circuit 12):
Nervous Curtains/Deep Throat/Warren Jackson Hearne & Le Leek Electrique (Hailey’s):
“Glamorama” (Beauty Bar):
Richard Thompson Electric Trio/Brave Combo (Granada Theater):
Eyes, Wings and Many Other Things/Diamond Age/Wirewings/Frauen (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios)
Bleached/Hunters/Atomic Tanlines (Club Dada)
Update: Thanks Light/Babalou/The Replications (The Lounge at Curtain Club): Austin’s Thanks Light is in town after a CD Release show at The Parish last week, and there are certainly much worse places to celebrate an album launch.
SUNDAY
For more events, go here.
