“The Showdown” (Sundown at Granada): Chris Roze will playing a set in addition to resident Blake Ward. This will serve as an after-party to the Wolfgang Gartner show, which is taking place next door at the Granada.
The Elongated Tidbits (The Balcony Club): The Tidbits are a pretty wild choice to play the Balcony, as the last time I was there it was wall-to-wall with pinstripes and May/December pairings. That’s fine, I just hope that the well-perfumed crowd is ready for some improvisational selections such as “Squawk Like a Man” and “Gun Control.”
Ashley Erikkson/Fishboy/Toy Gun (1919 Hemphill): Don’t overlook this show if you’re a fan of K Records band, Lake. Ashley Erikkson plays a prominent role in that band, though it’s hard to imagine she has the time to tour when Lake has released two albums in the past year.
Opening act Psygnus Psyanide is a Dallas band described as “spacepop” on 1919 Hemphill’s page, though I don’t know if I agree. They have a song called “Dirk Nowitzki”on their band page, which starts off with a lot of poorly-censored cursing taken from what sounds like a hate-filled voicemail. Listen at your own risk.
In 1919 Hemphill-related news, the DIY community space has now been open for an incredible 11 years. The venue recently had a crowdfunding campaign to raise one thousand dollars, and has already exceeded it, 32 days ahead of its deadline.
It’s worth noting that popular bands ask for funds in the hundreds-of-thousands of dollars range, simply to exist as vanity projects, and yet here is a youth-oriented community venue asking for a measly grand.
Philip Glass (Bass Performance Hall): Where to begin with Philip Glass? He is perhaps the most well-known, most prolific living composer, at once straddling the commercial and the experimental with a career that exists as a daydream for the uncompromising. But compromise he did, and success did not come overnight. To put it in perspective, Glass was studying at a conservatory the same year World War II ended. He wouldn’t gain much notoriety until he was middle-aged. Glass even worked as a plumber and taxi driver during leaner years, when the critics still hated him. There’s an oft-told story about a woman letting Philip Glass the cab driver know that there was also Philip Glass the composer.
But with roughly 111 soundtrack credits to his name, it’s understandable if you’re feeling a little Glassian Fatigue. By the time The Hours hit theaters, I was personally feeling a little underwhelmed by a man whose music I had grown to love. He even went back to score a film made decades before he was a household name, 1931’s Dracula. That would be the reason-for-the-season Glass will be performing this evening, to accompany the film with a live score.
I can’t help but wish he were doing selections from 1982’s Glassworks, rather than a Halloween-themed performance, but ultimately I’m probably just jealous that you’re there and I’m not. There is more information available on our Events page, complete with a Robert Pattinson reference.
Update: George Quartz will be playing selections by Lou Reed at Ten Bells tonight. That sounds like the perfect evening if you can’t see Philip Glass. Music at 8 pm.
For more events, go here.
Image: Philip Glass, performing at Teatro degli Arcimboldi, September 2008. Credit: Lelli E Masotti. Via.
