Deep Ellum may be pretty lively on the weekends, but unfortunately, it’s never a real hotspot on the weekdays. Like, this Thursday night for instance, because there’s rarely something major going on.

But this night, the Dallas/Fort Worth area favorites, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, were performing at The Doublewide, and playing with them was their buddies from St. Louis, Kentucky Knife Fight. No, it wasn’t a “major” show or anything, but it was one that was well worth going to.

Making it even better was the fact that Madison King and her band were opening the show. I caught her quite a few times back in 2011, but it seemed like her show schedule tapered off in 2012, and when she did perform, there was usually some other show I wanted to see more. So, needless to say, I was looking forward to finally seeing her again.

They were a trio this night, with Ms. King on the acoustic guitar, while the rhythm section was occupied by Jeff Dyer on bass and drummer, John Solis . They opened their 32-minute long set with what is quite possible the best song in their repertoire, “Here In Arms”, which just so happens to be a cover from a Dallas band with that same name. It was easily the best song of their set, despite Madison forgetting a line in it, which I think happened right after the line, “…If I’m the queen of dreams and runaways, you’re the king of patience, my love…” It didn’t seem to faze her much, though. Rather, she just pulled back from the mic on the small part she forgot, laughing, before getting back to it. They slowed things down a little with “Feel The Same”, before doing one of three new songs. It was incredible catchy, in terms of the music bed, and all around a fantastic tune. Pretty much the same can also be said of their next one, another new track called “The Mistake”, where the guitar, bass and drums intertwined with each other perfectly, allowing each to be the more dominant instrument at various points throughout it. “…This next song is one of the first I ever wrote…” Madison said, announcing it was another gem, “Tough As Nails”. After one more new song, Madison began plucking the strings of her guitar, progressively getting faster, starting the fast paced title track from her record, “Darlin, Here’s To You”. Their set had seemed to pass by too quickly, and they were already at the end, but they at least went out with a bang. “…This song is called Whiskey In The Morning” Madison told the meager crowd. It may be one of the shortest songs she has, but it’s also one of the most entertaining. For example, take the line, “…When I’m singing with the choir they say, “Girl you’re such a liar. I saw you last night drinking with my friends.” And I may have been there, too, but I’m still better than you because I don’t smell like whiskey in the morning…”

It was a good one to close with, and it ended what was a fantastic set. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I hadn’t seen her in so long, but she sounded impeccable this night. Her voice was gorgeous, and there were more than a few songs where it was nothing short of breathtaking.

To me, this show served to re-solidify the fact that Madison King is one of the most talented singer/songwriters in the area, judging from the new music they did, her next record should be just as remarkable as her first.

No telling when that will be, though. So, for now, be sure to check out “Darlin, Here’s to You” and keep an eye on her FACEBOOK PAGE for an future show updates.
They cleared off the stage in no time, and then Kentucky Knife Fight proceeded to set up.

It’s been right at two years since I first heard of the group, when they played this very venue for their first every show in Dallas. I caught them again in the summer of 2011 when they returned, but had missed all their other return trips since. I wasn’t going to miss this one, though…

The band is very close to releasing a new album, so it only made sense that their set this night would feature some of that new material. In fact, half of their set ended up being stuff that they have yet to release…

Like their first song, which was every bit as explosive as dynamite. It was a more intense, fiery song, and it found guitarist, Curt Brewer, often adding some backing vocals on the choruses, which really helped make the song pop. It may have been a knockout tune, but I was hoping they’d be some of my favorites of theirs, but especially one in particular. And wouldn’t you know it, they did that one next. “She looks bereft in her Sunday dress. Ruby red with the lips to match…” crooned vocalist, Jason Holler, which is the first few lines of “Always A Bribe, Never A Bride”. Most of his band mates joined him on the second chorus, as he, Curt, rhythm guitarist, Nate Jones, and bassist, Jason Koenig, harmonized to an extent, belting out, “She can tell I’m an only child. She knows why I can’t sleep at night. Has her fingers wrapped around the necks of every man, every woman, every breath…”. Then, as came to a close, Jason added some particularly long breaks in-between the final lines. “Every man…” he sang, before stopping and casually glancing around. By the second pause, the crowd started laughing, and it was indeed a bit humorous. After several seconds he put his face back in front of the mic and softly sang, “…Eve-ry breath.” Next up were a couple more new tracks of theirs, though these had at least been released as singles earlier last year. Easily the best of those songs is “Misshappen Love”, which was also arguable their best song of the night. Beginning with some sweet licks on the bass, it soon exploded into what was the loudest and most raw song of the set, and more than a few people were rocking out to it. The neatest part of it came near the end, when Jason H. picked up another microphone of his, which gave his voice a more gravelly sound, while he sang the chorus, “Why ya wanna to go and wreck my life? Why ya wanna go and bleed me dry?…”. “This next song is called Love the Lonely. It’s about loving the lonely.” Jason H. said, as they started into the slightly slower song. It still builds up to quite an aggressive tune, though, and several people were banging their heads along to the drumbeats, which were courtesy of James Baker. When it was over, Jason H. started chatting with the audience, then mentioned something about this was their “Birthday Tour 2013”, which made the rest of the guys laugh. “…It’s mathematically impossible, but today is every single one of our birthdays…” He said, then threw their merch guy into the mix, saying he was also celebrating another year of life this day. What made it so hysterical, though, was the fact that he seemed dead serious about it. They returned to the music after that, and I believe it was Nate who began picking at his guitar, starting “Herschel Walker”, which was the only song they did from the “The Wolf Crept, The Children Slept” album. It was still every bit as catchy as I remembered. They followed it up with three more new tracks, the first of which I really enjoyed. The second of those was pretty good, too, but the third was by far the best in my opinion, due mainly to this line from the chorus, “…The mistakes of the past are the ones that last…” At this point, they announced they had a couple of songs left, while Curt switched out his guitar for a banjo. Their Dallas fans seemed ecstatic upon realizing he was leading them into “Dream So Sweet”, which also featured Jason playing a little harmonica. They brought their 46-minute long set to a close with one last new song, which had an intro of sorts, that was pretty soft and consisted of only Nate lightly strumming his guitar, while Jason H. sang rather quietly. I didn’t think they’d close with something so slow, but it went on long enough, I began to doubt it ever would escalate into something more… Then it did. The rest of the guys finally added their talents to it, making it that much better, and a solid way to end the show.

There’s no denying that they were the most electric band of the night. They were all very lively and definitely commanded the crowd. Speaking of which, they had more eyes watching them then any of the other acts this night. In some ways, that’s sad, because this was an excellent bill, but in others it’s a testimony to how extraordinary Kentucky Knife Fight really is. ‘Cause to be a touring band, who, until two years ago had never even played Dallas, they now have a pretty good little fan base here.

The band has a couple show scheduled in the state of Illinois during mid-February, so visit their OFFICIAL WEBSITE for where, when and other such details. However, their big show will be a hometown gig in St. Louis at Off Broadway. They’ll be celebrating the release of their brand new record, and I imagine that will be a show not to miss out on. And before that new record hits digital retailers, check out their older stuff (and a couple new songs) on iTunes.

Finally, you had the Whiskey Folk Ramblers, who didn’t quite have the crowd they deserved. Don’t get me wrong, there was still a decent amount of people out for a Thursday night, but not as many as the band before them had.

They, too, have been hard at work on new material, and began their 55-minute long set with one of those new tunes. That wasn’t the only “new” thing about them, though, at least not for me. They were down a member from the last time I had seen them (which in all fairness, has been awhile), leaving them without a banjo player/multi-instrumentalist, and I was instantly curious as to how they would sound with its absence. Next, their drummer opened up their classic/fan favorite, “Gambling Preacher and His Daughter”. If there were any differences, they were subtle enough that I didn’t take notice of them, or perhaps the distinctive, twangy voice of singer and acoustic guitarist, Tyler Rougeux, was enough to cover it up. Whatever way you slice it, though, it was every bit as good as it always has been. Afterwards, they launched into a barrage of tunes, one of which, “Into That Slide”, came from their current release, “And There Are Devils…”. The next two were from their debut, “Midnight Drifter”, and included the catchy, “Moanin’ Rag”, before their drummer wound them right into “Goin’ Where I Don’t Know”, both of which are pretty short and very fast paced, making them fly by. To add some balance to it all, they then did a series of new tunes, one of which I recognized from the past few times I’ve seen them, and is a bit haunting as Tyler sings, “…I’ll follow you down…” A couple of songs later and they did one titled, “Drank the Bottle Dry”, before returning to some older stuff with “Curtains”. The music bed for that latter one is superb, with the acoustic and electric guitar, played by Mark Moncrieff, mixing quite well and they intertwine perfectly with the low end beats JackDaw Russell cranks out on his upright bass, though it is the Cory Graves’s and his trumpet that really makes the song pop. Tyler gave a simple explanation of what their next song was about, simply saying, “…It’s about sex…” Their next song got a nice lead in, too, when Tyler told everyone it was about an guy named “…Buster Brown…”. That made me assume it was another new one, but no. Instead, it was what is possible their most popular song to date, “Pies of Old Kylene”. They followed it with one final new song for the night, then slowed things down a little with “Sweet Waters”, which brought them to their final song. Now, a song or two before, Cory had lit up a cigarette, and could be seen periodically taking a drag off it. At this point, Tyler noticed it. “Well, look at that. Cory learned how to smoke a electronic cigarette…” he said. “At least I hope it’s an electronic one…” By that time it had been thrown to the ground and put out. They then began their final tune for the night, the lengthy, “Midnight Drifter”, which tells a story exactly like what the title suggests. “…So I took her out, stabbed her with my knife…” Tyler sings at one point, in a rather manically voice. As it neared the end, Cory walked to the front of the stage, looking like he could jump into the crowd at any moment. Sure enough, he did. Jason K. of Kentucky Knife Fight caught him, as Cory slid down the guys back, still shaking the tambourine he had exchanged his trumpet for.

This was as strong a show as I’ve seen the Whiskey Folk Ramblers do, and I have to say, I’m enjoying the new stuff. The bands first two records differ greatly in sound, and it would appear their upcoming third record will be different from those two. In a good way, though. It doesn’t come across as a complete overhaul of their sound, but rather a natural progression of it, simply evolving into the next phase. It still maintains what has been called a “spaghetti western” sound, though, and I find it interesting that a lot of the songs sound similar enough that they fit together almost seamlessly, but still maintain their own individuality.

So if you haven’t already, go check ‘em out, because I promise you haven’t heard anything like this before.

They don’t have anything on the books at the moment, but keep an eye on their FACEBOOK PAGE, as they no doubt will get something soon. Also, check out their two records in iTunes.

This was really an exceptional night, and turned out to be even better than I thought it would, which is saying a lot. And if you weren’t here, then you truly did miss out.

I wish I had caught on the patio sessions hosted at the AT&T Performing Arts Center earlier on this year. Alas, it wasn’t until The Orbans played last month that I really wanted to go, and now, this afternoon they hosted the next to last one for the season.

The atmosphere of it is just neat, being outside and all. And in passing, you would never expect to see area musicians playing here, in the midst of downtown Dallas.

Madison King was the first act of the evening, though she was without her full band for this show. However, Ryan Thomas Becker was joining her and her acoustic guitar with an electric one. They opened with some of the slower/softer tracks from her record, “Here in Arms” and “But For Now”, which made me think those types of songs might be what this more acoustic show was built around. And for the most part it was, but not entirely, as they did the more upbeat, “.44”, next, which, before beginning, Ryan had to think about it. “It’s been awhile since we’ve done this one.” Madison said to him. The pair did another one, “Feel The Same”, before Ryan propped up his guitar on his amp and walked off. This left Madison to do a stripped down version of “That’s When I’ll Let You Down”, which sounded great and the solo acoustic format seems the most fitting for that song. She looked at her notebook for the next song, pondering what to do next. “I cant decide what song I want to play.” she said. “My mom said something on the website today about doing Rainbow Connection, but I have another Muppet’s song I think I want to do.” I laughed a little at that, just because I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever hear a band cover a song sung by a Muppet. Also surprising, I never thought “It’s Not Easy Being Green” could sound so sad. (Something about seeing a frog sing it makes it hard to take it seriously.) But it did, and if not the best, it was at least one of the best songs she played this show. “Ryan. Can you come join me?” she asked when she finished up, as he rejoined her for the final three songs of the 36 minute long show, “Whiskey In The Morning”, “Darlin, Here’s To You”, and “Nazarene”.

I’ve said this before when I’ve seen other bands or singers do an acoustic set, and it was the case here, too. Without the louder instruments to compete with you could really hear Madison’s voice, which sounds great in any scenario, but this time sounded quite pretty as well. Definitely see a show of here if you get the chance.

This was already set to be a historic week for Ryan Thomas Becker & the Last Joke, since they were releasing their debut record the following night up in Denton. But before coming to the show here, they had gone an picked up their limited edition vinyl records, making this a sort of CD release show as well. It wasn’t a full band show, though. Of course Ryan Becker and drummer, Grady Don Sandlin, were there, but their bass player was unable to make it, which forced Tony Ferraro, who typical plays guitar, to rock out on the bass instead. None of that seemed to make a difference in the performance aspect, however. Ryan counted them in by stomping his foot on the ground three times, before they launched into “No Time Lover”. They moved right along, doing “The Train” and “Tom Petty Summer”, which is one of the catchiest songs they do, both musically and vocally. It was at this point I looked at the record I bought, which lay in front of me on the table. Those were the first three songs on side A, and as I flipped it over to the B side, Ryan announced the next song was “No, We Can’t Be Friends”, which was the first track from side B. So, they were playing the record from start to finish. That is also the only (sort of) original song of theirs on the album, as Tony wrote it. He sang the first verse of the song, and Ryan the second, while they co-sang the chorus. Towards the end of it, there are some pauses in between the chorus, and during one of them Tony stood there, obviously counting down to when they need to come back in, while Ryan stood with a blank stare, gazing up at the sky. “No, we can’t be friends. We can’t be friends.” they suddenly sang. “Theme to House Party 3” came next, which Ryan told everyone who wrote it, “…And he’s been my best friend since first grade.” he added. “Death & Taxes” closed out the album portion of the show, which Ryan later promoted, saying the official release show wasn’t until the following day. “So, y’all have the choice of looking at it, or maybe even buying it, if you want.” He looked at Tony before the next song, “You ready for this?” “Yeah.” replied Tony. “This is an old one where we come from.” Ryan told the crowd, as they started “Stake Thru Heart”. “This is the most beautiful day in all of days…” Ryan commented after the song. An older song done by he and Grady in RTB2, “Bottle the Bees”, came next, and then they touched on some stuff from “Neighborhoof”. “So Speak” came first, and while informing everyone this record was not for sale, Ryan suddenly asked, “Did Madison already leave?” “Yeah.” someone answered. I don’t recall exactly what word he used, I think either “shoot” or “darn”, then saying, “She totally sings this song with me. Oh well, we should have discussed it before hand.” So, he sang “Whistle” alone, which still sounded great, and “Finger Trace” came afterwards. “We’ve got one more song.” stated Ryan. “It’s an old country song, called He’ll Have to Go.” which concluded their 54 minute set.

It was an excellent show, even a little high energy, with Ryan kind of sliding/falling to his knees in front of Grady’s kit during one song, as he played the tune. As for their record, it’s awesome. The odd thing about it is that all the songs are covers of their friends’ bands. Yet they are all new to me. You can buy and preview the record on their bandcamp page, and it should soon be available on iTunes, too. Also, they did some songs for the Denton based, Violinist Sessions recently, and you can download those tracks for free, as well as watch the live videos (linked above in the song titles).

It’s weird being down in Deep Ellum in the daylight. It seems… unnatural. Even stranger, seeing hordes of zombies roaming the streets. But that was the scene this afternoon as I pulled into a parking lot at Good Latimer and Main Street. The reason for the zombies was what is called the “Zombie Crawl”, and event that was hoping to break the world record for most zombies in one place. Or something like that. They ranged from people with some lite makeup to look dead with some blood, to those who really looked like half their face was gone with their teeth exposed. But the reason I was seeing all this in the first place was to attend the DOMA showcase.

The Dallas Observer was marking their 23rd annual music award season with a day long event featuring 52 bands, most of whom are nominees, on 10 stages. They had pushed it back from last years event, which occurred in July, so it would be more bearable temperature wise. And it’s a good thing they did with it beginning at 4:30 on the outdoor stage, and was still pretty warm, even when standing in the shade.

Sarah Jaffe had the pleasure of kicking this event off. I know she is highly revered in the music scene, but I’ve never understood why. I’ve listened to the tracks from her “Suburban Nature” album numerous times, and I don’t think they’re that great. In fact, I was dumbfounded last year when, if I remember correctly, she made a clean sweep at the DOMA’s, in the many categories she was up in. So, I wasn’t just too excited about this.

It was nearly 20 minutes after the scheduled start time before Ms. Jaffe and her band made their way on stage. The song itself was amazing, with Becki Howard as well as Scott Danbom playing a violin, making it very moody, and somewhat dark sounding. Sarah opened her mouth, and I was taken aback. It was so lovely, so beautiful. All of that past doubt I had of why she won so many Dallas Observer music awards last year was instantly washed away. She grabbed a bass for the second song, as Scott took a seat at his keyboard, and they did a few songs before she exchanged the bass for an acoustic guitar. About mid-show Sarah invited a friend on stage, Will Johnson, of Centro-Matic, to help her with the song “Nurture It”. She, too, had commented how warm it was earlier in the show, and talked about being sweaty. So, before starting that song, she said, “While y’all are baking, we’re going to do a ballad.”

I really wondered if any band of the day could top this set. Really, I was totally blown away by it. And that led me to this conclusion, Sarah Jaffe isn’t the best studio artist. I’ve heard of her for a couple years now, at least. As I said, I’ve listened to her music and didn’t like it, but it seemed everyone swooned over her. The difference between them and I, most of them had seen her live before. As I write this, I’ve listened to the stuff again, this time just the song clips on iTunes, and I still don’t like it. Bottom line, I don’t think her recorded work even begins to do her justice or show off her full talent. Indeed, seeing her live is an experience. And one I wish to experience again in the future.

Next on the main stage was the 16 year old, Centro-Matic. Somehow, I’d never heard of this veteran band from “…The rolling hills of Denton…” as vocalist Will Johnson put it near the end of the bands show. What followed was a 55 minute set that was the best of any band that played the main stage. Like most professional bands, they went from one song to the next without pause, but when they did stop, they were entertaining. Four songs in or so they stopped and Will said outdoor rocking could sometime be “intimidating”. “But not this time.” he continued. “Because this month is Anytober. You can get any regular foot long sandwich from Subway for five fucking dollars.” Everyone that I saw cracked up at this, but Will wasn’t done with it yet. “That just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? It’s not a stretch at all, Anytober.” They cranked out many more songs before stopping again and Will asked if everyone was still holding up okay. “…This is kinda like when you take LSD with a friend, you need to check on them. “Are you doing okay?” “Should we do more?” “We shouldn’t do more.” “Maybe just a little more?” That banter went on, and eventually keyboardist, Scott Danbom, joined in on it. When they finished, they dedicated their next song to “that banter.” After some more tunes, Scott got up from his keyboard and took over bass duties from Mark Hedman, who then added a rhythm guitar to the mix. That format lasted a few songs before Scott returned to the keys. Now to close out the show, they had a few good surprises worked in. The Toadies, Clark Vogeler, had been standing to the side of the stage watching most of Centro-Matic’s show, and for their next to last song he joined them on stage, rocking on the guitar. “Where are you at Sarah Jaffe?” Will asked as they began the final song, in which Sarah joined them, playing a tambourine and singing some backing vocals.

I’m definitely a fan of these guys now, and plan to get their records eventually. Also, if you live in Colorado, Missouri, Utah, Nevada, California, or Arizona, check out their tour page, as they will be going on an eight city tour in November.

After taking time out to grab a bite to eat at Twisted Root, my dad and I returned to the main stage where The Old 97’s were rocking. I only stayed for a couple of songs, but I see why they rose to the level of fame they have. It’s very catchy stuff and Rhett Miller has a great voice.

I ducked back out and headed over to the Prophet Bar where Andrew Tinker was supposed to go on at 8. Key part of that, “supposed to”. I waited as they did a mic sound check. Two more of the band members came in and set their stuff up on stage. They did a sound check, and then left the stage, not in any hurry. By the time that happened I’d been sitting there for 50 minutes, and now it was about time for the Toadies. I don’t know what the deal was, but they shoud’ve been more on time than this. Especially for a large scale event like the DOMAs. The sound check sounded fantastic though, and it only makes me want to see one of Andrew Tinkers shows more now.

We staked out a spot in the large field across from the Prophet Bar, where the outdoor portion was held, and waited. They were playing DOMA nominees over the sound system, and as RTB2’s, “When Hammer Hits Stone” faded out, the man working the sound board announced it was almost time for the Toadies. “We’re going to play one last song, at their request.” he said, as an instrumental song began to play. Maybe 30 seconds into it Clark Vogeler stepped on stage, along with Todd Lewis, Mark Reznicek, and Doni Blair. Todd asked everyone how it was going and if they were having a good time. They began their show, which drew almost entirely from the “Rubberneck” record, with “I Come from the Water”. But while Todd’s fingers where ready to start the song on his guitar, his mouth wasn’t. They played through the song before he came in on the line, “…I sucked that hot air in, and rolled up on the sand…” It was a shaky start to a show that just seemed lacking of something. They did recover nicely though as Mark brought then end of that song into the start of “Heel”. And there’s something quite charismatic about Todd during that song, when he makes the little hand gestures while singing, “Heel!” For most of the show they rotated between classics and new-ish stuff, churning out “Backslider”, “I Am a Man of Stone”, “Away”, “Push the Hand”, “Mexican Hairless”, which I felt was their second best song of the show, “No Deliverance”, and “Quitter”. Wait, “Quitter” proved to be pretty memorable, too. Upon finishing it, their stage hands brought out some drums, toms, I believe, and set them up on stage. “Yeah. Were gonna get some people out to bang on these.” Todd said. I couldn’t make them out too well, but if I heard right the two people were Centro-Matic’s drummer, Matt Pence, and Old 97’s drummer, Philip Peeples. Todd plucked away at his guitar strings, kicking off “I Burn”. They joked after it that, that should be the end of the show because of how great it was. They probably should’ve saved it to close out the night, as it was spectacular. I could be biased, as it is one of my most favorite Toadies songs, but it did seem more amazing than usual. “Let’s just consider every song from here on the encore.” Todd offered. They went on with “Song I Hate” and immediately started “Sweetness” when it was over. That one was a very pleasant surprise for me. When it was over, Todd flicked a guitar pick towards the audience and apologized. “I’m sorry, I’m not very good at the pick toss. I‘ve only been doing it for twenty years.” At this moment several people were heard shouting for “Tyler”. “I don’t know what they want?” said Todd, as he looked at Doni and Clark. The chanting was still heard, but soon turned to cheers as they started “Possum Kingdom”. It was the first in their final three song barrage, as they transitioned the end of it into “Hell in High Water”, and the final guitar notes from it became the first chords of ”Mister Love”, which ended their hour long show.

An encore was expected, though. So it surprised me when people began to walk away and leave. When they returned, some balloons were brought out as well, and placed next to Mark’s kit. I remember pointless dates, and immediately thought back to their show in Denton last year, on October 14th which carried over into the early hours of the 15th, which was Mark’s birthday.

Todd stated that today was his birthday, “He’s twenty-nine.” he added, and attempted to lead a sing-along of happy birthday. The crowd didn’t participate though. “We’re gonna leave you with this one.” said Todd, as they began “Tyler”. And while unintentional, Todd made sure the show ended just as it had began, with some flubbed lyrics. He stumbled over almost everything from “…I found a window in the kitchen…” on, recovering only in the final moments of the song.
 
As I said, something seemed out of place with this show. Maybe it’s because the Dia De Los Toadies from a couple months ago is still fresh in my mind, and most Toadies shows would pale in comparison to that. And I’m by no means saying I didn’t enjoy it, as I love every chance I get to see the Toadies. It’s just that I’ve seen better.

There was a mass exodus as everyone spilled out onto the streets to file into the clubs. I had the entire night planned out, but I figured the Toadies would play at least thirty minutes more than what they did. So I was clueless as to what was going down at the 10 o’ clock hour. And after wandering all the way down to where The Bone is, we turned back around and went to The Door, to wait for Air Review.

It took them a little bit to get everything just right, in regards to the sound check and that they each were getting the right amount of each instrument in their monitors. Then the Observer people were introducing the acts, telling you what to text so you could get some last minute votes in for the group. By the time all that happened it was ten minutes after eleven, and vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Doug Hale, wasted no time on starting the show. He began playing his piano, starting “Waiting Lessons”, in which he, guitarists, Richard Carpenter and Dragan Jakovljevic, and bassist, Jeff Taylor, all harmonize. As they started the second verse, Justin Robinson came in on the drums, as did Dragan, who had a couple pieces of a kit in front of him. They continued with “At the Switch”, and afterwards Doug got up from the piano and grabbed an acoustic guitar. I thought I knew what was coming next, thankfully, I was wrong. See, apparently from the last time I saw them, “H” has been worked into the live shows. And out of the new singles they’ve released, this is my absolute favorite. I’d even say it’s my favorite Air Review song period, and I relished hearing it live. Doug took a seat back at the piano and worked to find the right keys. “There we go!” he exclaimed after finding it, and began the ever so beautiful, “All Because You’re Mine”. They brought things back up to a rock level with “My Automatic”, which was followed by a cover of a Beatles tune. Afterwards, the sound guy informed them they had time for one more. “Isn’t it obvious?” Doug asked his band mates. “We’re not going to play the most popular song we have?” was Jeff’s comeback. It then came up for a vote. “America’s Son” and “Low Wishes” were the options, and while I was shouting for the latter loud enough I couldn’t hear anyone else, everyone else wanted “America’s Son”. “We shouldn’t have done the Beatles song.” muttered Doug, too little, too late, as “America’s Son” closed their 32 minute set.

This was the best setlist I’ve heard these guys do, ever. I’ve said many times before “Waiting Lessons” is the best way for them to kick off a show, and everything after that just had such a great flow to it. And to be perfectly honest, this was my best moment of DOMA. They have a couple of shows coming up, one in Fort Worth this Thursday for a concert on the square. The other is an acoustic show in Dallas on November 3rd at the Church of the Incarnation. They should be releasing the EP they’ve been working on in the near future, too. But until then, check out the singles from it on iTunes, and their full length “Landmarks” if you don’t have it. Because, there’s a very good reason they’re up for a DOMA for best Indie act and best song of the year (“America’s Son”).

Then, it was back down Elm Street to The Bone.

The Denton based Spooky Folk got going, surprisingly, on time on the roof top stage at The Bone. On the plus side, the backdrop for the stage is the skyline of Dallas, which is gorgeous. On the other hand, the sound system is nowhere near the best. They opened with a couple of newer songs, the first of which I really liked Petra Kelly’s parts on the violin. Their show wasn’t without problems though, as they had trouble with some of the instruments occasionally, and when singer Kaleo Kaualoku got too loud, his voice sounded like it belonged on a terribly produced home recording. And he certainly can sing much better than how this set up made him sound. They did a couple from their record, “Polaroid” being one of them. Then, after tuning his guitar, Kaleo began “Bible Belt”, which had a lot of people singing along, especially on the chorus. “…I was born on the bible belt. Give me something sharp so I can kill myself! Cause I can’t go on living this way…” Lead guitarist, Jesse Perry filled some time before the next song by asking how everyone was doing. “…Can you walk in a straight line?” was one of several questions he asked the audience, all of which were something a cop might ask you. “I’m just trying to get y’all ready if the cops get y’all later.” he said. “…Cause they kinda like to fuck with people.” They then did another new song, followed by this “This Sleep”. Then, Jesse took over on the bass, as Scarlett Wright picked up her melodic and began “Resurrect!”. They didn’t get far though before having some more technical issues. They fixed it pretty quickly though, started the song again, and this time got through it. I think it was before the final song of their 39 minute set that another problem arose, and this time, Petra decided to fill the time. “So, the other night I was sitting on a patio at this bar…” I was intrigued as to where this was going, but that was a far as she got. “Thank God!” she exclaimed, as they started in on the final song.

The audio problems did impact the show, which is a shame because I love this band, and hadn’t seen them in six months. They’ll be performing at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton on November 16th, so go see them if you can.

We left there and walked next door to Club Dada, and as soon as we got in, I regretted seeing Spooky Folk, based solely on the bad sound of the venue. Because the first thing I heard after entering Dada was The Orbans singing my favorite song of theirs, “New Dress”. In particular, the final chorus, “…What I need is a promise, the true relation of a heart. What I want is a new dress, you can wear it at the start…” Damn, I wish I hadn’t missed their show, as they sounded even better than the other times I’ve seen them.

Madison King was closing out the night here at Dada, but before I get to her set, I want to talk about something else. So, I’ll make this as brief as possible.

I saw the band Sealion for the second time the previous Saturday, and in my review I was, uhh, not complimentary at all. So, as Madison began her show someone’s arm was placed on my shoulder and a CD shoved in front of me. “I know you don’t like my voice, but here you go.” says a voice. I looked and it was Hunter Moehring, the voice behind Sealion and the person I spoke ill of in the review. “I hope you didn’t take that personally” I told him, as he told me not to worry about it and joked, “At least you know I read.”

The fact that he would do that shows a great deal of character in my book. From ’06 to early ’10 I just posted my writings on Myspace, but I never really said anything negative of a band, just “I didn’t like them.” Why? On the off chance a band found what I had written, I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. It wasn’t until sometime last year that I wanted to take a more serious approach to this, which I think means being as honest and blunt as possible. Even if I love your band, if you do something that I think is a fault at a show, I’ll point it out. And I think it’s awesome that some of the musicians tell me they value my opinion and use my criticism to improve their performance.

That said, what I do write is my opinion of that particular show. So please, don’t take it personally. And my thoughts can be swayed. The Phuss and RTB2 come to mind as bands I was indifferent to upon first hearing, but since have become a fan of. And Mr. Moehring, if you’re reading this, thanks for the CD. I listened to it and it’s good. Who knows, maybe if I see Sealion another time or two I’ll be a fan.

Okay, now on to Madison’s show…

She and the band opened with “Here in Arms”, as she sang the first line of it, “A couple scribbles on a napkin somewhere. A cup of coffee and a cigarette…”. They seemed to race through the songs, as she announced the next two, “But For Now” and “Feel The Same”. After those, she looked at Ryan Becker, who was having a busy night himself, since he had played with RTB2 at The Door just an hour before. “The duet.” she said to him, though he and bassist, Jeff Dyer, began talking in front of the drum kit. “They don’t look ready.” Madison said, who began “Till Death Do Us Free” any ways. “Things just got sexy.” Ryan said when the song was over. They followed it with “Whiskey in the Morning”, and at the beginning of it Ryan was slightly hopping around on the stage. I haven’t seen him many times where he’s just an instrumentalist, but he’s pretty great at that, too, enjoyable to watch perform. They slowed things down a bit with “Nazarene” and at the end of the song Madison broke a guitar string. “Things just got sexier.” said Ryan, “Madison’s breaking shit.” He then looked at her and asked, “Is that a good thing?” “Is anyone coming to my rescue?” she asked in vain. “I’m not gonna lie, that is the first string I have ever broken during a show.” she announced while working to get the string off. She finally did so and they were able to play “Darlin, Here’s To You”, which I thought sounded slightly different with a broken string. I figured with the technical issue they’d go ahead and call it a night, and so did Jeff, Ryan, and the drummer, all of whom got ready to leave the stage. But Madison started another song. She remarked it “wasn’t too good”, being modest in my opinion, “…But we’re going to finish the show with it. It’s about Dallas.” As they closed their 39 minute set with the song titled after the fine city.

That made for a perfect ending to a great night (and day for that matter) of music. She’ll be doing a free show this Thursday outside the AT&T Performing Arts Center. They should start at 5:30 with Ryan Thomas Becker & the Last Joke going on next.

DOMA was pretty fun this year. I wish so many bands weren’t going on at the same given time though. I would’ve loved to have seen RTB2, the Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Fox & the Bird, Soviet, Bravo Max!, Ishi, and a few others, most of whom played at the same hour at the various clubs. Maybe next year they can resolve that, though. And best of luck to all the nominees in their quest for a DOMA. The award presentation will be held Tuesday at the House of Blues, and it is free to attend.

Even after a long, fun day at the State Fair with the family, there seemed like no better way to end the night then going to Renfield’s Corner in uptown Dallas, for their free weekly Wednesday night shows. I was cutting it pretty close to the 9 o’ clock start time, though, but when I got there the band was just loading their gear in, further perpetuating the belief that musicians are never on time. (Though true, I do mean that as a joke.)

The act of the night was the Dallas Observer Music Awards nominee, Madison King and her band, who kicked off their 67 minute long show at 9:35. They opened with “But for Now” and continued with the song that follows it on her record, “Here in Arms”. Madison began playing some notes of that second song, which were a bit off, and lead guitarist, Ryan Thomas Becker, pointed it out, jokingly telling her, “That’s not how the song goes.” She got it right though, and afterwards they followed it with “Tough as Nails”. At this point, Madison took her glasses off and laid them on a stool beside her, then was about to start the next song. “That’s not gonna work!” she exclaimed, reaching for glasses and putting them back on for “.44”. They slowed things down a bit for the next couple of tunes, “Affectation” and “Feel The Same”, and around this point she introduced her band, Ryan, Jeff Dyer on bass, and the drummer. (I apologize, I didn’t catch his name.) Now, they switched things up a bit, as she told everyone that Ryan “…was going to sing one of his songs.” They performed it as a duet, with Ryan singing the first verse, Madison the next, and they let their voices blend for the last bit of the tune, which sounded most excellent. “Do you want to do my duet now?” she asked Ryan when they were through, dubbing this segment the “duet corner”. She repeated herself, though this time saying it fast enough it sounded like “do it corner”. All the while, Jeff had dragged a stool over the far end of the stage, which Ryan said was perfect for the duet corner, and took a seat. “That’s what happens when you get old.” Madison remarked, which left Jeff looking shocked about the burn he had just received. The song they did was what I believe is the strongest song on the album, “Till Death Do Us Free”. In the simplest sense, it tells a wonderful, albeit sad, story of two lovers who you could say still carry a torch for each other. (I’m not very good at interpreting songs, but surly I’m not getting that wrong.) The first verse was crooned out by Madison, as Ryan served as the male lead on the song, coming in at the second verse, and the line “Sent your invitation today, hope you don’t bring someone, I pray…” I think the line(s) that best define the song are this, (Ryan) “I’ll think about her.” (Madison) “I’ll think about him, (together) and wish he/she wore my ring…” After concluding that song, they covered a Bob Dylan tune, and then did a couple new songs, which I want to say was there debut. The first one featured the full band and was “hodge podged together” as Madison put it, though in listening to it you certainly wouldn’t have guessed it. The drummer and Jeff left after it, as Ryan seated himself in the stool mentioned earlier. Madison even ditched her pick for this song, instead plucking the strings on her acoustic with her fingers, giving it a spectacular sound, and was one of my favorite songs of the show. They played one more song just the two of them, “That’s When I’ll Let You Down”, before the other members rejoined them for “Whiskey in the Morning”, “Nazarene” (get a free download of the song HERE), and finally, “Darlin, Here’s to You”.

I’ve seen enough bands here I should know better, but for free I was not expecting this great of a show. I mean, hell, they ran through the entire “Darlin’, Here’s to You” record and then some. It was amazing. You can catch them next week when the Dallas Observer Music Awards showcase show goes down in Deep Ellum. They’ll be playing at Club Dada at 1 in the morning. They also have a free show coming up on October 20th outside the AT&T Performing Arts Center, where they’ll go on at 5:30, with Ryan Thomas Becker & the Last Joke following them.

Club Dada has been (or will be) hosting some awesome shows lately, that really cater to musical preferences. And tonight was another one of those killer line-ups.

Kicking off the night was Spook Easy, who I’ve been wanting to see for some time now. Guitarist, Logan Kelson, started them into the first song, as vocalist and keyboard player, Stephanie Burns, announced the song was “A new one.” They did another song after it, and then switched things up a bit. “Do y’all mind if I sing a song?” Logan asked everyone. “I know, I’m not Stephanie.” he joked, while adjusting his mic stand. I guess I was more skeptical of how he would sound than what I thought, cause when he opened his mouth and sang the song, I was bit surprised at how good he sounded. I wouldn’t say he had a great voice, though it was distinctive. Stephanie took back the reins for the next song, one from their “On a Bad Ship” EP, “Pond”, which they followed with they said was an “old” song. The drummer of the band Hormones, Jordan, was filling in with them this night, and he started them into their next song, banging about the full kit, and Stephanie abandoned the keys for the next few songs. Next, they did a cover tune, then another from their EP, “Via Matilda”. Their set seemed to pass pretty quickly, as they were already on their last song, which Joe Tacke began with some bass notes, then Logan came in, with the other members not far behind.

It was a very good 35 minutes, and I love the more unique sound this band has carved for themselves, which I think could be attributed partly to the distortion Stephanie uses on her vocals, which gives them a slight soupy sound.

People On Vacation was next, though not in the same acoustic format they were in when I saw them at Renfield’s Corner a few weeks ago. Noticeable from the start was that Jaret Reddick was using an electric guitar, and they also employed some backing tracks, as a drum beat began, which led them into “Rainy Day”. “Thanks.” said Ryan Hamilton, before they started their next song, “Because of the Sun”. After that one, Jaret thanked everyone. “We’re trying out a lot of new gadgets tonight.” he told everyone. “So, if something screws up, I will not carry on like a professional. I will stop in the middle of the song…” “Here’s a question. What if you play the wrong chord in the middle of the song?” Ryan asked him. Jaret responded with something to the effect that he wouldn’t make a big deal out of that. Then Ryan asked everyone to give it up for Jaret. “He tuned his own guitar tonight.” he said. And indeed, some of the people did applaud his accomplishment. But Jaret must’ve felt it was too early on, and jokingly told them not to yet, cause “…you don’t know how it will sound…”. They then did their next song, and after it Jaret compared he and Ryan to Thelma and Louise. “Wait, was one of them hotter?” Ryan asked him. “Yes!” Jaret exclaimed. “One of them only wore a wife beater and never had a bra on. It was awesome!” “Okay, I want to be her.” Ryan told him and that took them into “Back to Being Friends”. “I like these shows.” Jaret stated after the song. “We just stand here and it requires little effort on my behalf.” He then corrected himself. “I’m sorry, it takes little effort on my part for your behalf”. “She Was The Only One” came next, and after it Ryan said, “Oh yeah, y’all like that one.” “Are you informing or observing?” Jaret asked him, and they soon started the next  song. “…This next song we usually make a sing along.” Ryan informed the show goers. “I know there’s not many people here, but I don’t feel like anyone has a big ego, so maybe we can make this work…” he finished, and they began “But It’s Not Love”. The sing along didn’t go too well though, as only a small handful of people participated. Jaret next plugged their debut EP, which is due out on Thanksgiving, then looked at Ryan. “Let’s act like we’re going to do a high five and then not!” he told him, as they each raised a hand, and pretended they were. “Oh, forget it.” said Jaret at the last minute. They set up the next song as being about the prettiest girl in the world, aptly titled, “The Prettiest Girl In the World”. Then Ryan cleared the air for their next song. “Contrary to popular belief. Well, I don’t even know if it’s popular belief. But this next song isn’t about suicide, it’s about zombies.” “Come on!” Jaret said to him. “Popular belief?!” as he pointed out at all the people, or better the complete lack of. Perhaps the rain kept people in this night, but the crowd was pathetic, and you certainly never would have guessed that nearly eight months ago this band pretty much sold-out the Cambridge Room at the House of Blues. Jaret then mentioned that his son threw wiffle balls at them as they filmed the music video for the song. “…But we had to edit that out, cause we didn’t have an agreement with the wiffle ball company.” A drum track kicked off “Better Off Dead”, before Ryan sang the first line, “Live life free of inhibition…” Their set was right at the end and Jaret said he had to be back in the suburbs the next morning for his “…five year olds soccer game.” and they closed their 43 minute set with “Punk Rock World”.

The addition of the drum beats definitely added to the depth of the music, and made the show even more enjoyable. Check ‘em out in Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 22nd and 23rd at the Downtown Lounge. They’ll be in Wichita Falls at the Neon Spur on October 7th and The Aardvark in Fort Worth the following night. Then they’ll be doing a free show at Renfield’s Corner on November 9th.

Madison King and her band began setting up literally as soon as POV finished, and at 12:06 kicked off their 45 minute set. They did a couple of songs, then she announced the next one was called “Here In Arms”. As they finished the next song the music turned into some horrible sounding feedback, and she and bassist, Jeff Dyer, looked at each other, like they were unsure who was responsible for it. “That’s rock ‘n’ roll is what that is.” said Madison. “So, this is pretty exciting to say. This next song is currently on the radio.” she said of the next song, and also plugged the station, KXT 91.7. They continued on with “Feel The Same” and my personal favorite, “Nazarene”. She strummed her acoustic guitar, in preparation for the next song, and winced at the sound it made. It had apparently gotten out of tune and she took a moment to fix that, before they did the incredibly catchy, “Whiskey In The Morning”. During the song someone had gotten a shot of, I assume whiskey, and she toasted with her band and the crowd. “I’m all talk.” she said, after she had downed the shot. Saying she didn’t really like whiskey too much. The title track of her new record, “Darlin’, Here’s To You”, closed out the set, yet they still had one song in store for the people. This last song, “Dallas”, went out to a girl who is apparently a big fan, because not only did she have on a Madison King shirt, she had been requesting this song since the start of the show. “These guys don’t the song.” she said, speaking of her guitarist, drummer, and bassist. You wouldn’t have known it though, as they just went with it and improvised it quite well. It ended up being my favorite song of the night, possible because it speaks so well of the Lone Star State, and as the song describes, I, like most Texans, have “…pride coming out of my ears…” And the chorus for the song was nothing but shear genius. “…I’ll take you to the dead place of JFK, it’ll blow you away.” And on the final chorus added afterwards, “…Like it did to him on the Grassy Knoll that day.” The only part of the song I disagreed with was that “…All the rich kids live in Plano…” That’s an unjust stereotype, in the same way that most of the world thinks all Texans live on ranches, ride horses everywhere they go, and constantly say “Yee Haw”. Sure, it sounds good, but not entirely accurate.

For whatever reason, I liked this show much better than their one here last month, for the first annual Ace-A-Thon. And while I didn’t hear it at that show, their music does have a slight country sound to it. You should definitely head over to iTunes and buy the album, as I bought it at this show and it is nothing short of amazing. They’ll be at Allgood Cafe this coming Thursday, September 22nd, opening for Mindy Smith. And they have a couple of free shows in October, the first at Renfield’s Corner on the 5th, and the 20th they partake in the Patio Sessions at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.  And if you feel so inclined, you can also vote in the Dallas Observer Music Awards, where she is up in both the “Best Solo Act” and “Best Female Vocalist” categories.