JULY EVENTS OPENERS

Four Decades of Irving Penn Photos

Sometimes it seems that Irving Penn is the name assumed by several photographers, each of which has his own preferred subject matter. There is Irving Penn the distinguished fashion photographer, Irving Penn the stylish portraitist, Irving Penn the relentless explorer of exotic people in exotic lands, and Irving Penn the restless experimenter, whose nudes and still lifes have pushed beyond the ordinary boundaries of those subjects. But, no. there is only one Irving Penn and the Fort Worth Art Museum currently has him-or some 200 of his peerless images-in a show organized for New York’s Museum of Modern Art by the director of that museum’s Department of Photography, John Szarkowski. The show surveys four decades of the photographer’s work, including unpublished early pictures.

What draws all these diverse Perms together is a fanatical devotion to technical finesse and a refined sense of style that marks every Penn photograph, whether it is of a Vogue model or a West African tribesman.

It’s a beautiful and provocative show and it continues through July 6 at the Fort Worth Art Museum, 1309 Montgomery St. Hours are Tue-Sat 10-5. For information call (817) 738-9215.

-Ken Barrow



Lyric Opera of Dallas

Summer 1986 will go down in Dallas operatic history not only as the year when the company formerly known as the Public Opera of Dallas rechristened itself as the Lyric Opera of Dallas, but also as the year in which that same company dived headlong into serious operatic repertoire.

After tackling Mozart’s Magic Flute in June, the three-year-old organization, which has previously concentrated on comic opera and operetta, will offer its first exploration in the field of verismo tragedy with Puccini’s perennial favorite, Madame Butterfly. Lyric Opera co-founder and artistic director John Burrows will conduct, with sopranos Louisa Jonason and Cheryl Kanfoush alternating in the title role, joined by tenor Rico Serbo as Pinkerton, baritone Eugene Perry as Sharpless, mezzo-soprano Gillian Knight as Suzuki, and Ron Luchsinger directing.

After Butterfly, Lyric Opera returns to Gilbert and Sullivan for its final show of the season, presenting a new production of H.M.S. Pinafore

conducted by Burrows, directed by Dugg McDonough, and starring Eric Shilling as Sir Joseph Porter, Gillian Knight as Buttercup, Jill Blalock as Josephine, and Kenneth Wood as Ralph Rackstraw.

Madame Butterfly will run July 11, 12, 16, 18, & 19 at 8 pm and July 20 at 2:30 pm; H.M.S. Pinafore on July 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, and Aug 1 & 2 at 8 pm with matinee performances July 27 at 2:30 pm and Aug 3 at 2:30 pm and 6 pm. All performances at the Plaza Theatre, 6719 Snider Plaza. Tickets $26.50-$7. 522-5653.

-Wayne Lee Gay



Orlando Pieces Installed At Park Central

Soon the landscape of the 187-acre Park Central area will be strewn with enormous steel sculptures by Dallas sculptor Joe Orlando.

The gradual production and installation throughout Park Central of these twenty monumental pieces will take two years to complete. The project is a cooperative venture between Orlando, Nimbus Gallery, the Park Central Corporation, Huffhines Steel Company, and Master Tank and Welding Company. The first piece in the series is a 33.3-foot. 5 1/2-ton steel sculpture that was installed in May and is titled “Allen’s Piece,” for Allen Huffhines of Huffhines Steel Company.

The second is a 42-foot tall. 8 1/2-ton piece that is scheduled to be installed on July 1. “A Piece for Mr. Pete” will be dark on the outside and open on the top. It will take a sixty-foot tractor-trailer (as opposed to the normal forty-foot) to get the piece from Huffhines Steel on Commerce to Park Central at LBJ Freeway and Coit Road. Orlando’s planned schedule is to install one or two per month until all twenty works of this growing exhibition are in place.

Orlando’s works for Park Central can be described in geometric terminology as an infinite curve made up of straight lines called a hyperbolic paraboloid. By applying his imagination to different formats of the basic hyperbolic parabaloid, Orlando is producing one body of work exemplified by twenty variations.

The original problem with the project was finding the proper avenue to display it. At least one hundred acres was necessary. Last year, with the support of Mayor Starke Taylor, Dallas Parks and Recreation Director Jack Robinson assisted Orlando in finding a sight. After learning of the project, Park Central Corporation was enthusiastic about hosting a show of this magnitude.

Visitors are invited to drive through the grounds of Park Central throughout the next two years, and to touch and enjoy these pieces.

-Alan Peppard

Art



Georgia O’Keeffe. O’Keeffe’s death in March seemed more like the stilling of a great natural force than the death of a painter. Much of Americans’feeling for their land is summed up in, and summoned up by. O’Keeffe’s monumental oils and dazzling watercolors of flowers, of clouds, of stones and bones “Georgia O’Keeffe: Selected Paintings and Works on Paper” is the first major exhibit of her work since her death and the largest show since the Whitney Museum’s 1972 retrospective. Through July 14 in the Gerald Peters Gallery, Suite 320 in The Crescent, 2200 Cedar Springs. Mon-Sat 10-6. 871-3535.

Mary Warner. Wild horses, cattle, and an occasional human figure appear in the exotic and turbulent oils of this Oklahoma artist. now working in New York’s SoHo. Through July 17 at DW Gallery, 3200 Main St. Tue-Sat 11-5.939-0045.

New Artists/Hew Work. Six artists, three printmakers. and three artists who make collage/constructions -additions to this gallery’s stable-make their debut. Through July 19 at William Campbell Contemporary An, 4935 Byers. Fort Worth. Tue-Fri 10-5, Sat 10-2. (817)737-9566.

Winslow Homer. Me was very good in oil on canvas, but he could be positively brilliant in watercolor on paper, and these scenes of seafaring, sporting, and rural life are bound to be close to the top of anyone’s list of favorite paintings. Through July 27 at the Amon Carter Museum, 3501 Camp Bowie, Fort Worth. Tue 10-8, Wed-Sat 10-5. Sun 1-5:30. (817) 738-1933.

Arts Koutroulls. In his first show in the Dallas area, this veteran New York artist binds long strips of linen to canvas using a viscous mixture of acrylic paints. Through Aug 2 at Nimbus Gallery, 1135 Dragon St. Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 11-4 742-1348.

Musée d’Orsay. The stunning collection of 19th-century paintings, sculpture, photographs, and decorative objects from Paris’s newest art museum is previewed before its opening later in the year in a restored Belle Epoch railroad station. Through Aug 3 at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N Harwood. Tue, Wed, Fri.Sat 10-5; Thur 10-9; Sun noon-5. 922-0220.

Aaron Siskind. This exhibit surveys a half-century of work – evocative, poetic, lyrical, sometimes mystical -by this often-underrated photographer. Through Aug 10 at the Dallas Museum of Art. 1717 N Harwood Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat 10-5; Thur 10-9; Sun noon-5. 922-0220.

Four Site Sculptors. Architecture, landscape design, and even industrial engineering all merge with sculpture in the works of Alice Aycock, Richard Fleischner. Mary Miss, and George Trakas. Through Aug 10 at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N Harwood Tue, Wed, Fri. Sat 10-5; Thur 10-9; Sun noon-5 922-0220.



Photographic Portrait Of Texas

“Contemporary Texas: A Photographic Portrait” sounds like one of those awful Sesquicentennial projects produced by some chamber of commerce or, worse yet, some tourist agency, an exhibit full of cheerfully colorful pictures of bluebonnets and oil rigs. On the contrary, two years ago the Texas Historical Foundation commissioned sixteen of the state’s best photographers to take a hard look at the state and its people. The resulting 150 images are full of surprises and revelations, the Texas we all look at but so seldom really see. Through Aug 24 at the Amon Carter Museum, 3501 Camp Bowie, Fort Warth. Tue 10-8, Wed-Sat 11-5; Sun 1-5:30. (817) 738-1933.



Texas Time Machine. Twenty-nine contemporary artists look at 150 years of Texas history. Through Aug 4 in the Sheraton Gallery. Sheraton Dallas Hotel, 400 N Olive St. Daily 10-10. 922-8000.

Blood of Kings. Based on recent breakthroughs in Maya research, especially in reading the Mayan language, this exhibit penetrates the mind of the ancient people in a way few art exhibits ever attempt. Through Aug 24 at the Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie, Fort Worth Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 11-5. (817)322-8451.

French Impressionists. An exhibit of works by Monet, Pissarro. Cassatt. Degas, and their lesser-known followers marks the 100th anniversary of the eighth and last Impressionist Independent exhibition in Paris Through August 30 at Hall Galleries, Inc., Suite 30 in the Crescent, 2200 Cedar Springs. Mon-Sat 10-6 871-3400.

Letters and Numbers. The second in a series of special summer shows for kids demonstrates how, in the hands of a Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg, Kurt Schwittere. or Andy Warhol, numerals and the alphabet can become a thing of elegance and beauty Through Aug 31 at the Fort Worth Art Museum. 1309 Montgomery St Tue-Sat 10-5. (817) 738-9215.

Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. A special exhibit of works in black and white joins the regular collection of works by the two best-loved painters of the American West. Through August in the Sid Richardson Collection. 309 Main St. in Fort Worth Tue-Fri 10-5, Sat 11-6. Sun 1-5.(817)332-6554.



Theater



Shakespeare Festival of Dallas. The Shakespeare Festival celebrates its fifteenth anniversary of free Shakespeare at Fair Park’s Band Shell this summer with a special Sesquicentennial production, the Edwin Booth version of Hamlet that toured Texas over one hundred years ago. Hamlet will be performed July 9-19. A Midsummer Nights Dream will be presented July 24-Aug 3. All performances begin at 8:15 pm; gates open at 7:15 pm for picnicking before the show. No performances on Mondays.



Music



Dalles Bach Festival. July 7: Violinists J. Patrick Raf-ferty and Mold Takeda join flutist David Hart and harpsichordist Paul Riedo for an evening of chamber music by J.S. Bach July 17: The Dallas Bach Choir and Orchestra, with soprano Joyce Guyer, mezzo-soprano Deborah Milsom, tenor Reginald Pittmand, bass John Ostendorf, and conductor Paul Riedo perform Mozart’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria All concerts at 7 30 pm at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 6306 Kenwood Avenue at Abrams Road Tickets TBA. 827-8886. 640-7500.



Basically Beethoven Festival

The best cure for summer weekend doldrums is also one of Dallas’s best musical freebies: the Fine Arts Chamber Players and its annual Basically Beethoven Festival, featuring orchestral and chamber music concerts on Sunday afternoons in July with conductor Mischa Semanitzky. July 6: Beethoven’s Second Symphony and excerpts from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, with soloists from the Lyric Opera of Dallas. July 13: Beethoven’s Triple Concerto (with the Koryo Trio), J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Oboe d’Amore, and Kidaly’s “Summer Evening.” July 20: All-Beethoven concert of chamber music. July 27: Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory, Barber’s “Mutations from Bach,” other works TBA. All concerts are at 3 pm at the Dallas Garden Center Auditorium, Fair Park. Free. 428-7476.



Dallas Museum of Art. July 12 Dallas-based chamber ensemble Voices of Change performs music of Faure, Ravel. Gaubert. and Satie with guest violinist Emanuel Borok at 3 pm July 13: Czech pianist Elena Letnanova performs music from late 19th-century France at 3 pm 1717 N Harwood Free 922-0220.

Dallas Symphony Discovery Series. July 3: Piero Gamba conducts a concert featuring Larsson’s Pastoral Suite, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy (with violin soloist Emanuel Borok). and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”) July 10: Pianist Andrea Lucchesini performs Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in a concert conducted by Kirk Trevor and also including excerpts from Weill’s Three Penny Opera, Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, and the world premiere of Faulconer’s “Washington-on-the-Brazos.” July 17: Music director Eduardo Mata returns to the podium to conduct J.S Bach’s Second Brandenburg Concerto, Rodfigo’s Concierto Serenata (with harpist Nicanor Zabaleta). Hodkinson’s Sinfonia Concertante, and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusick. July 24 Ronald Shirey conducts a choral-orchestral concert featuring the Dallas Symphony Chorus performing Mozart’s Regina Coeli, Haydn’s Te Deum, and J.S. Bach’s Cantata No 50 and Magnificat July 31: Pianist Richard Goode performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 under the baton of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski in a concert also featuring Skrowaczewski’s arrangement of Rameau’s Six Concert en Sextuor and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1. All concerts are at 8:15 pm at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm. Tickets $16-$8 692-0203.

Dallas Symphony Starfest. July 4. Independence Day Celebration July 11: The Judds July 12: Walt Disney Spectacular. July 13: Wart Disney Spectacular. July 18. Santana. July 19: Stevie Ray Vaughan. July 29- John Denver July 25: Kool and the Gang. July 27: Glenn Frey. July 30 James Taylor. July 31: Billy Crystal. All concerts at 8:15 pm at Park Central, Coit at LBJ. Tickets $14 for lawn seating, $12 with advance discount coupon (group discounts available, children under twelve free). 692-0203.

Richardson Community Band. This all-volunteer organization provides four outdoor theme concerts to be held on Sunday evenings. This month’s performance is The Music of Broadway. Sun, July 13 at 7:30 pm at the Richardson Civic Center, Central Expwy at Arapaho Road.

Lyric Opera of Dallas. July 11-20: John Burrows conducts an English-language production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly with sopranos Louisa Jonason and Cheryl Kanfoush alternating in the title role, joined by tenor Rico Serbo as Pinkerton, baritone Eugene Perry as Sharpless, and mezzo-soprano Gillian Knight as Suzuki, directed by Ron Luchsinger July 11, 12, 16, 18, & 19 at 8 pm and July 20 at 2:30 pm. July 25-Aug 3: Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore will feature Eric Shilling as Sir Joseph Porter, Gillian Knight as Buttercup. Jill Blalock as Josephine, Kenneth Wood as Ralph Rackstraw. Thomas Hammons as Dick Oeadeye, and James Rensick as The Captain, with John Burrows conducting and Dugg McDonough directing. July 25, 26, 29.30. & 31 and Aug 1 & 2 at 8 pm. July 27 at 2:30 pm and Aug 3 at 2:30 pm and 6 pm. All performances at the Plaza Theatre, 6719 Snider Plaza Tickets $26.50-$7 522-5653

SMU Summer Conservatory. July 1: A chamber music; recital features DSO concertmaster Emanuel Borok in works of LeClair, Dvorak, and Schubert at 8:15 pm Tickets $8. July 2: Howard Dunn conducts the Dallas Wind Symphony at 8:15 pm. July 3: Conservatory students in concert at 6 pm. July 4: Outdoor concert, time and place TBA. July 5: Conservatory students at 7 pm. July 6: Kirk Trevor conducts a gala concert featuring student concerto competition winners in performance with orchestra at 7 pm July 7: An-shel Brusilow conducts the Festival Orchestra in a concert including Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture, Saint-Saens’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33 (with soloist Peter Wyrick). and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10. Unless otherwise noted, all concerts are free and are at Caruth Auditorium, Owen Arts Center. SMU. 692-3680



Enlightenment

China: 7,000 Years of Discovery. Larger than the famed King Tut exhibit, this exhibit of the secrets of ancient China is at the Science Place at Fair Park. As well as displays, eighteen Chinese artisans demonstrate the processes their ancestors used to harness science and invent many of !he useful, often beautiful products of China such as paper making, silk weaving, printing, kite making, and embroidery. Through Dec 15 in the Science Place’s renovated facility, the former art museum building. Tue-Sun 9 30 am-6:30 pm. Closed Mon, Tickets available through Ticketron 640-7500.



Recreation

Taxas Black Invitational Rodeo and Folkllfe Festival. More than 300 professional black cowboys and cowgirls from around the country have been invited to participate in bareback and bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, and ladies’ barrel racing at the Fair Park Coliseum. The Folktife Festival offers Boston storyteller Brother Blue, a soul food cook-off, a quilting bee, merchandise and displays from commercial and private vendors, and music and dance performances. Folklife Festival Sal, June 28, noon-10 pm; Sun, June 29, noon-6 pm. Rodeo begins Sat, June 28 at 7 pm and Sun, June 29 at 3 pm. Rodeo general admission $6.50 per day or $ 10 for both days; reserved tickets $10 per day or $16 for both days. Fair Park Coliseum. 372-8738.



Circus Day In Dallas

Mayor Starke Taylor has proclaimed Thursday, July 31, as Circus Day in Dallas. The Institute for Aerobics Research has bought the entire Ringling Bros, and Bar-num & Bailey Circus for a major performance that evening. This will be the first time anyone in Dallas has bought out one entire performance of the circus for a benefit. The performance will begin at 8:30 pm in Reunion Arena. For ticket information, 991-2978.



Sesquicentennial Calendar



End of the Trail, Texas State Wagon Train. After traversing 3.000 miles in six months to link Texas in a record-making Sesquicentennial celebration, the Texas State Wagon Train will wheel into Fort Worth for a warm welcome home. The historic procession will hitch up tor the last time July 3 at 9 am at Gateway Park, travel through Fort Worth’s Central Business District by way of Main Street, and pass through the Stockyards National Historic District at approximately 1 pm. Thousands are expected to line the parade route and give the wagon train a big-hearted hurrah. Billy Bob’s Texas will host a street dance at the Stockyards. Parade maps are available through the Fort Worth 150 Celebration Commission. (800)441-1986.

Texas U.S. Salute at Fair Park. Traditional Independence Day activities in honor of the United Stales flag over Texas Entertainment is slated for the Cotton Bowl, and don’t forget the Fair Park fireworks that evening! July 4

Texas Livestock Heritage Pageant. A salute to Texas cattle breeders and the livestock industry, including exhibits and photos celebrating the rugged longhorn. At the Fort Worth Stockyards July 4-6 from 10 am-6 pm. Admission is free. (817) 625-6241.



Sports

Texas Rangers. Arlington Stadium, Arlington. Tickets $8 50 $5 for reserved seats, $3.75 for general admission. $2 25 for children 13 and under; available at Rainbow-Ticketmaster outlets. Sears stores, and Arlington Stadium ticket office. Home games start at 7:35 pm unless otherwise noted Metro 273-5100.

July 1 & 2 Minnesota

4-6 Detroit

7-9 New York

24-27 Cleveland

28-30 Baltimore

Willow Bend Polo Matches. For those new to the game, Willow Bend Polo and Hunt Club offers a Triends of Polo” orientation to the sport preceding every Sunday polo match. Held at the No. 1 field, a polo player is on hand to explain and demonstrate the basics of the game. Admission is $6 for adults, children under twelve free. Tickets available at Rainbow-Ticketmaster and preceding all matches at the field. Willow Bend Polo and Hunt Club, FM 544 between Preston Road and Dallas Parkway, Piano. 248-6298. July 6 Power Cup League 6 pm

13 Power Cup League 6 pm

20 Power Cup League 6 pm

27 Power Cup League 5 pm

27 Finals USPA Women’s National 6 pm



Nightlife

ENTERTAINMENT/DANCING



Baby’s. The slickest new dance club in Dallas is (surprise!) found amid the laid-back nightlife on McKinney Avenue It will probably bother some that most of the clientele is gay-but there are sprinklings of all the eclectic types here This place has every trapping of cool-a sunken dance floor (a la Starck Club), video screens, neon lights, a separate room in the back for a quiet drink, and bottom-shaking music. (3501 McKinney 521-4748. Mon, Wed & Thur 9 pm-3 am,Fri&Sat 9 pm-4 am. Sun 5 pm-3 am. Closed Tue. AE.)

Barney Oldfield’s. Barney Oldfield’s relentlessly pushes on, no matter what other clubs are doing, with its ’straight from Las Vegas” theme. Everyone who appears on the stage seems to be either from Reno or Vegas. But while other similar supper clubs in Dallas have only had short lives, this one continues to thrive with its basic pop music act. (1893 W Mockingbird. 634-8850. Mon-Thur 11 am-1 am, Fri 11 am-2 am, Sat & Sun 4:30-2 am. Shows: Tue-Thur 9& 11, Fri & Sat 9:30 & 11:30, Sun 9. MC, V, AE.)

Belle Starr. As much as we talk about new trends and new wave, you would think that the old country-western life is verging on death Are you kidding us? Belie Star, packed with the middle-aged boot-kicking crowd, continues to be a huge money maker There are bands every night, urban cowboys everywhere, and women in those tight-litting jeans that would make any good old boy swoon There’s also free beer Tuesday through Thursday, which means you’ll have trouble squeezing into the place. (7724 N Central at Southwestern. 750-4787. Mon 8 pm-2 am. Tue-Sat 7 pm-2 am. Sun 4 pm-2 am. All credit cards.)

Dick’s Last Resort. The appeal of this newest nightspot in downtown’s West End district comes from the owner himself. In this charmingly hectic, casual atmosphere, where everyone sits at long tables, presides loud-mouthed Dick-he teases you, roars happily at you from across the bar, and puts together a terrific combination of drinks with a hefty chicken-ribs-crab menu. Dixieland jazz groups nightly. (Corner of Bossand Record. 747-0001. Mon-Thur 11:30 am-midnigbt, Fri & Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun 5 pm-midnight, MC, V, AE, DC.)

Encounters. The burning question in North Dallas is: will the young hotspot lovers take an elevator up twenty-one floors in a hotel to go to a European-styled disco? The Doubletree Inn is betting on it, with the kind of flashing lights, sleek waitresses, and pounding dance music that we know so well. On our first visits, the crowd was older than other Upper Greenville dubs. The bar food is not typical-there is a dish called -vegetable cheese cake” (8250 N Central Expwy in the Doubletree Inn. 691-1309. Mon-Thur 4:30 pm-1:30am, Fri 4 30 pm-2 am, Sat 8 pm-2 am All credit cards.)

Fast & Cool. After a meteoric rise to stardom, Fast & Cool is now undisputably the King of Lower Greenville. Apparently, the management has decided that patrons don’t want to hear an eleven-minute “dance-mix” version of the latest pop-chart bullet. The music here is predominantly Motown sound and authentic soul from artists like James Brown and Ike and Tina Turner. The dance floor is the center of this tiny universe and it has a magnetic effect on anyone who walks in the door. It’s hard to imagine even the most hard-core Baptist resisting this dance floor. There is frequently a mob of people waiting in line to get in, but the reward is well worth the wait Unlike countless dance clubs that have come and gone on Greenville Avenue, this place has staying power (3606 Greenville. 827-5544. Sun-Thur 7 pm-2 am. Fri & Sat 7-4 Cover: S3 Thur-Sat. MC. V, AE..)

Jazba. When you’re in the mood for serious jazz, step down the inviting marble stairs into the sleek Jazba at Ratclitfe’s. Unwind in one of the big comfortable chairs and tune in to some of the best late-night |azz in Dallas. The drinks are plentiful and the food on the after-hours menu is several cuts above the average bar fare. (1901 McKinney 871-2900. Fri & Sat 9 pm-1 am. Cover $5. MC V. AE.)

Memphis. Don’t let the tiny dance floor (literally about the size of a two-door foreign car) and the dark hue of the bar disturb you. People dance in the aisles, on the chairs, by the bar-mainly because this is the best live jazz-dance bar in North Dallas. Great local groups are regulars-like Emerald City and Schwantz Lefantz. (Quorum Plaza. 5000 Belt Line, Suite 500. 386-9517. Mon-Fri 4 pm-2 am, Sat & Sun 7 pm-2 am. Cover $3-$5. All credit cards.)

Prophet Bar. Haunted by the threat of nuclear war? The lines of Dylan Thomas? The lines at the Starck Club? If you’re tired of that scene, then retire to the peaceful artistic confines of the Prophet, where people gather coffeehouse-styte to discuss, oh, what they did last night at the Starck Club. This is a fine Deep Ellum-watching place, which means you try to guess who over at table three is the real artist and who is the downtown office worker who just likes to play dress up. But by 11, you don’t have to worry about “cool” talk. The live music will-thank God-drown you out. (2713 Commerce. 742-2615. Tue-Thur & Sun 3 pm-2 am, Fri & Sat 8 pm-4 am. MC. V. AE.)

Taheeti’s. You live on the cutting edge of Dallas night life, but somehow you feel empty. You’re bored with video bars, light shows, and happy hour buffets. This Lower Greenville comedy club is the perfect change for you. The house troupe, the Guava Bomblets (formerly of the Pocket Sandwich Theater), perform Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights dishing out creative, intelligent improvisational humor at breakneck speed. There’s a constantly changing line-up of acts on other nights. Friendly waitpeople are attentive and anxious to please with plentiful drinks and light food from the preservative-free health food menu (2106 Greenville. 823-6626 Tue-Sun 7 pm-1 am. Closed Mon. MC, V. AE Cover varies.)

Visions. This North Dallas nightspot gets a well-dressed crowd of junior-executive types who work hard for their money. Consequently, when the work day is over, it takes about three hours and at least that many drinks to get them out of their chairs and onto the high-tech dance floor. High atop the Westin Hotel, Visions offers a sparkling view of the city, elegant surroundings, and bartenders who dispense a welcome sense of humor along with the drinks. (Westin Hotel. Galleria, 13340 Dallas Parkway. 934-9494. Mon-Sat 5 pm-2 am, Sat 8 pm-2 am. Closed Sun. All credit cards.)

Nightlife

DRINKING

Affair’s. The great old beer joint of Dallas continues to pull in its rednecks, loud-mouthed attorneys, chic city women who act country, and all-around fun-loving people who like to drink beer and spill it on the pool tables. Since Adair’s moved to its Deep Ellum location, cynics had been predicting its demise. But its half-pound hamburgers and whiny jukebox still draw a crowd. (2624 Commerce. 939-9900 Mon-Sat 10 am-2 am. Closed Sun. No credit cards.)

Buyers. All those sharp-looking fashion buyers who flood our city have to go somewhere. Often, it’s the Buyers bar on the second floor of the Wyndham – a cozy little spot where the patrons sip wine and chat about hem lines You’d better look right here. Fakes are spotted all the way across the room. (Wyndham Hotel, 2222 Stemmons Freeway. 631-2222 Mon-Sat 11 am-1 am Sun noon-1 am. All credit cards.)

The Library. An elegant spot in the renovated Melrose Hotel, this bar has done some sprucing up of its own. It opened the windows and doors and put in a soothing, quiet piano-jazz act. Perfect for a comfortable after-work drink. (Melrose Hotel, Oak Lawn at Cedar Springs. 521-5151. Daily 11:30 am-2 am. All credit cards.)

The Lounge. Want to throw down a beer with young intelligentsia7 Here’s what you do: first, dress chic, but don’t let it look elegantly chic. Casual chic is the style here (unless you’re in the New Wave crowd and you come in so everyone can have a look at what they’ve been told is “gloriously outrageous” fashion). Then, you’d better see one of those foreign movies playing next door at the Inwood Theatre so you’ll have something to talk about at the bar. And you’d better show a little poise. This is as close as Dallas gets to one of those sophisticated, high-tech upper West Side bars in New York where you wish you could eavesdrop on the conversation at every table. (5460 Lovers Lane. 350-7834 Sun-Thur 5 pm-1 am, Fri & Sat 5 pm-2 am. AE, DC. CB.)

Milo Butterfinger’s. This is one of the few remaining “bar” bars on the Upper Greenville strip. Milo’s has outlived the disco and the fern – even the upscale meat market. It’s a comfortable joint where you can wear your jeans (even if they’re faded) and play a game of pool, fuseball, or shuffleboard with a buddy while sipping a longneck. A few years ago. owner Ned Smith moved Milo’s off of Greenville to a spacious, but modest, location around the corner. But judging by the fresh-faced college clientele, you’d swear he’d moved into the basement of the SWU student center. (5645 Yale. 368-9212 Daily 11 30 am-2 am. MC, V, AE.)

Plus Fours. McKinney Avenue provides a sophisticated gathering spot for a group other than the yuppies. With an English-styled, woodsy interior, it almost seems that the “intelligent” thing to do is watch the nonstop sports you find on the bar’s televisions. Opened recently, Plus Fours has already proven immensely popular There’s also great Sinatra music on the jukebox. (2504 McKinney. 871-2757 Mon-Sat 11 am-midnight. Closed Sun. All credit cards.)

San Francisco Rose. The continued success of Dal-las’s oldest fern bar defies rational analysis. The inside seating is some of the worst in town; the food ranges from so-so to no-no: the service can be forgetful; and the al fresco scene outside is only for those who like their drinks with carbon monoxide. The one strong point we discovered is the drink list: some of Rose’s concoctions blend imagination with hefty shots to produce a reduced level of critical awareness. Hey, maybe that’s the answer. (3024 Greenville. 826-2020. Mon-Sat 11 am-2 am. Sun noon-2 am. All credit cards.)

SRO. What would the yuppie downtown business crowd do if they couldn’t have an after work drink at SRO (which should stand for Smashingly Resplendently Ordinary)? Here, you may tap your manicured fingernails against the sleek bar and wonder who that handsome man is in the Armani suit or what kind of soul lurks beneath that Neiman-Marcus mannequin looka-like who is sipping wine by herself. Everyone looks good in the track lighting of SRO. That, of course, doesn’t help the food, and you’d better be ready to talk banking or real estate principles if you want to last here. (2900 McKinney. 748-5014. MonSat 11 am-2 am, Sun 5 pm-2 am. MC. V.AE.)

Stan’s Blue Note. The best beer-drinking join! on Lower Greenville, this place has been discovered mostly by the post-SMU crowd. But you’ll still find your quota of eccentrics and plain old barflies who love the shuffleboard and pool tables and the surprisingly lively atmosphere. (2908 Greenville. 824-9653. Mon-Sat 11 am-2 am, Sun noon-2 am No credit cards.)

Steak Pit. In the midst of hectic Harry Hines, here is a country/western bar that should be located in a small town. It’s the country bar for people who can never get enough country. The bar opens at 11 am. and the drinks flow till 2 am. Lonnie Dean and Silvercreek. which plays there most nights, is one of the most venerable country bands in Dallas, and there’s a great talent contest on Tuesdays where truckers, housewives, and a few guys who’ve had a little too much to drink prove that it ain’t how well you sing that makes a song good, but whether you know all the lyrics. The restaurant, which has great steak, is open twenty-four hours. (8121 Harry Hines. 631-8225. Mon-Sat 11 am-2 am. Sun noon-2 am. V.)

Wall Streets. Ah, for those grand old days of the dimly lit bar and bartenders whose best-made drink was a double scotch on the rocks. At Wall Streets (tailored explicitly tor those who dig tailored suits) you get hard drinks and bedrock American business tatk There isn’t much fooling around here. This is the business lunch, business drink, business conversation crowd-and they love it. (725 N Olive in the Bryan Tower Parking Garage (also in the Frito Lay Tower, Mockingbird and Harry Mines). 754-0199. Mon-Fri 11 am-9 pm. Closed Sat & Sun. MC. V. AE. DC.)

The Wine Press. This is the perfect place to go on a rainy night – or any time you’re looking for romance, intimacy, and spirits. The Wine Press is decorated with wine bottles from floor to ceiling on almost every wall. The atmosphere is low-key and elegantly casual; the service, friendly but not hovering; the wine selection, extensive-to say the least, (4217 Oak Lawn. 522-8720. Tue-Sat 11 am-2 am. Sun & Mon 11 am-midnight. MC, V. AE.)

Fort Worth Nightlife

Billy Bob’s Texas. This huge country/western club in the Fort Worth Stockyards has a tot going for it: two res-taurants, forty-two bar stations, a real bull-riding arena, and several shops. It’s bigger than Gilley’s, but more citified than the Longhorn Ballroom ever was. (2520 N Commerce in the Stockyards. Metro 429-5979. Mon-Sat 9:30 am-2 am. Sun noon-2 am. MC, V, AE.)

The Blue Bird. Even when the band’s not playing, you’ll feel like dancing at The Blue Bird: the jukebox is the best in Fort Worth. But then, the patrons of this near-South Side club don’t want that to get around; they know a good thing when they’ve found it. The club is packed nearly every weekend wrth regulars dancing to the infectious music of Robert Ealey and the Blues-blasters. This is rhythm and blues at its finest, but sssshhh! (5636 Wellesley. (817) 735-9705. Fri & Sat 7 pm-2 am. No credit cards.)

Camp Bowie Country Club. Give us a break! We come to Fort Worth, expecting only the best in blue leans, boots, and conversation about patching the fence, and dadgummit if they haven’t fallen in love with the new music scene. Fort Worth kids, who we thought would never change, are dressed in the latest high-lech, dancing from the moment they walk in the door10 that kind of energetic music no one has yet to find aname for. (4615 Bryce Ave. (817) 737-5227. Mon-Fn4pm-2 am, Sat & Sun 6 pm-2 am. Cover and live musicon weekends- MC, V. AE, DC.)

Caravan of Dreamt. Caravan of Dreams, which covers three floors of a chic Sundance Square building, has excellent live jazz/blues (and a bar) on the first floor, a theater with movies and live drama (and a bar) on the second floor, and an outdoor patio with a cactus garden (and a bar) on the roof. (312 Houston. (817) 877-3000. Wed & Thur 5 pm-2:30 am, Fri & Sat 5 pm-2 am. Sun 6 pm-11 pm, Closed Mon & Tue. Cover tor shows only. MC. V, AE, DC.)

The Chateau Club. So you thought that John Dillinger had bit the big one He’s just been hiding out at the Chateau Club, an obscure establishment connected to the Jacksboro Highway via a winding driveway and behind lots of cover The history of this club is as obscure as its location, but the only thing you really need to know is that for the past few months it’s been one of the few bright lights on the Fort Worth live music scene. Although the club’s in a basement and the dance floor is small, we’re just glad that local R&B has a place to rock (Wednesday. Friday, and Saturday). Good luck finding this one. (5409 Jacksboro Highway. (817)624-0597. Mon-Sat noon-2 am. MC, V, DC.)

The Hop. In three words. The Hop is warm, woody, and wonderful. It has the air of a typical college hang-out (it’s just one block from TCU), but lacks the cutesy crowd or trendy atmosphere. A stage tucked in the cor-ner features national and local bands, with music rang-ing from folk to reggae, rock to country. (2905 W Berry. (817)923-7281. Mon-Sat 11 am-2 am. Sun 4 pm-1 am. All credit cards.)

The Pickin’ Parlour. Just up the road from the popular White Elephant Saloon is a club that is unusually devoid of the hordes of Yankees who invade this touristy area each weekend The reason? They lake their beer drink-in1 and two-steppin seriously here, folks. Those who can’t get their feet to move to the one-two, one-two-three beat get lost in the shuffle. There’s no room on the dance floor for lessons, either. But once you get the hang of it. you’ll never go back to rock ’n’ roll. (103 W Exchange in the Stockyards. (817) 624-2592 Mon-Sat11 am-2 am. Closed Sun. All credit cards.)

The White Elephant Saloon, In 1B87. Luke Short,then the owner of the White Elephant, shot it out with aformer U.S. marshal. Today, the Elephant has country/western music six nights a week and lots of tourists try-ing desperately to learn the two-step on a small dancefloor. (106 E Exchange. (817) 624-8273. Mon-Sat 11am-2 am, Sun noon-midnight. Happy hour Mon-Fri 11am-7 pm. MC, V.AE.)