Boxcar Bandits (Hailey’s): Though these regionally touring powerhouses were long associated with free shows at Dan’s Silver Leaf on Mondays, they have since taken up a week-starting residency at Hailey’s. You can also regularly see them in such locales as Abilene and Coppell, if you’re in the area. More artists would do well to attempt the quick weekend tour of the state. After all, it’s only the size of Afghanistan.
Speaking of local tours, Dallas’ own Ynfynyt Scroll will be appearing at McAllen’s landmark Cine El Rey theater later this month. That sounds like a great pairing. Get out there more often, guys and gals.
“Cool Out” (The Crown and Harp): The guest this evening is DJ Red Eye.
Seryn (Aloft Dallas Downtown): Former physical publication and now web-only entity, Paste Magazine, has organized a sprawling series of concerts that take 20 different singers and bands and book them at 20 different Aloft Hotel locations, from Brooklyn, to Portland, to Tempe.
Aloft is part of the massive Starwood empire, which has over 1,100 properties all over the globe. Like so many web-only publications, Paste seems increasingly interested in slapping its name on everything from festivals—such as last weekend’s Untapped for instance—to joint promotions with hotels, since it is obviously without a physical product to move and from which to profit.
I don’t know about you, but is anyone else getting “sponsor fatigue” around here? Sponsors are a necessary part of doing business in most large-scale event planning, unless perhaps you are the staunchly anti-corporate All Tomorrow’s Parties organization, but then again, who is? That festival will cease operations at year’s end, but it should be noted that it stands out in terms of quality and how its attendees are treated compared to most sponsor-heavy music fests.
“Large scale” might be the key words here. I’m starting to see sponsors for dinkier and dinkier events, and it seems like there isn’t a week where an energy drink or a hotel or a truck company isn’t behind some fairly ordinary show. You’re even starting to see the underwriters’ commercial mottos and slogans used in headlines for articles, yet these articles are not designated as being an advertisement. That raises some alarm bells in the integrity department, though I doubt the offenders can hear octaves in that register.
There is sometimes a tendency to go with the most artistically safe bets when these shows are booked. If you already have someone on the line, at least take some chances. The audience shouldn’t have to suffer through a run-of-the-mill show if they’re already being overexposed to invasive advertisements.
As I said, there is a way to work with sponsors, but I don’t know if working them into titles and articles unnecessarily should be your first choice. It feels a little icky. Seeing their flags and banners at the event should be enough. I’m perfectly ready to eat these words when I have to be involved in a sponsored event, but I will never put a company’s slogan in a headline, or work their advertising into a story that is not itself an advertisement.
Tonight’s show starts at 6 pm, and is free to attend. But rooms start at around $179 if you plan to stick around.
Other Monday events—
Lyle Lovett (Bass Performance Hall)
“Vinyl Tap” (Double Wide)
Paul Slavens (Dan’s Silver Leaf)
Find more ways to spend your evening over on Things to Do in Dallas Tonight.
Photo: Seryn performs at Frontburner Live, January 2011. Credit: Matthew Shelley and Chad Mancin.
