Paul Slavens (Crown and Harp): Paul Slavens won two different Dallas Observer Music Awards last night—one for best “pianist/keyboardist”; the other for “best radio show/podcast.” Almost immediately following the victory, another nominee, KDGE’s Mark Schectman, issued this tweet:
Well we didn't win best radio show. But I now get to be on the radio every night, so I'm not sweating it either. Lol ❤️ u.
— Mark On the Radio (@themark23) November 6, 2013
I don’t want to read too heavily into this, but that doesn’t seem like the most gracious acceptance of defeat on Schectman’s part. It’s complete with an “Lol,” which I don’t remember ever being synonymous with being a good sport.
Schectman has had moments of playing a decent track here and there, but it’s been mostly through someone else’s legacy: The Adventure Club, which has become a nearly unrecognizable shell of its former self. Of course he is on the radio most nights; corporations make it so their employees can work to their hearts’ content. The difference is that Slavens turns in a unique, format-free program, for a not-for-profit station. He plays everything from seldom-heard (inter)national acts such as Sparks, and Cabaret Voltaire; to seldom-heard locals such as Diamond Age, and Night Game Cult.
So, yes, Mr. Schectman, point taken. Big money radio is on every day, playing one unremarkable Clear Channel-dictated selection after another. The Paul Slavens Show is but once a week. It’s always as well-selected as it is daring. It may not be every day, but that only makes it that much more special.
Audacity/Pink Smoke/War Party/Anger House (Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios): Did you spend a lot of money on a music degree? Have you been toiling on your various projects for years with little success? Well, rest easy knowing that while you attempt to record another little masterpiece this evening, somewhere a headlining band has a song called, “Subway Girl.” It’s about a girl who works at Subway.
Was “A Portrait of the Sandwich Artist As a Young Woman” too convoluted? That’s why I gave up music years ago. Keep practicing.
Wanz Dover (Texas Theatre): Dover will be playing a set heavy on British pop music that is era-appropriate, following the screening of Made of Stone. That would be the newly released documentary on beloved Manchester band, the Stone Roses.
Cults/Sacco/Mood Ring (Trees): All the convincing you need to attend can be found here, on “Things To Do In Dallas Tonight.”
Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt/Bashe/MoonLasso/Gay C*m Daddies (Macaroni Island): I was a bit surprised to see that Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt has released music on the globally adventurous Luaka Bop imprint. The label’s promotional materials describe the band as “sorta dance-soul music, like synthed out Otis Redding covers on fast forward.” While I wish that were the case, it sounds like upbeat indie rock, like something out of Japanther’s Brooklyn of the mid-aughts. I’m sure it’s a good time live, judging by the photos.
On the other end of the spectrum, Gay C*m Daddies is the solo project of Buakkake Moms’ Reece McLean and I’ll stop right there, lest this become the inadvertently filthiest sentence I’ve ever written for FrontRow. The music is willfully bizarre, though less of the chaotic volume attack that his full band conducts. Mclean is an extremely thoughtful player somewhere deep in that tangle of noise, and should be seen and heard for that as such.
“Trillwave” (The Boiler Room): Tonight’s featured artists are Mario Lopass, Passthe40, Trailer Swift, and Dubble A.
Other Wednesday shows—
Tim Locke/Danny Balis (Twilite Lounge)
Lupe Fiasco/Stalley/The Boy Illinois (Granada Theater): This is a pretty big act even though the Granada is a mid-sized venue, and surprisingly, the show is not yet sold out. I’ve read some online grumbling about the ticket price, so that may be a factor. But again, you often have to pay when name recognition is involved.
The Tontons (Renfield’s Corner)
Photo: Reece McLean, performing with Bukkake Moms, February 2013. Credit: Andi Harman.
