RadioUTD

Ever felt like folk music was getting a bit of a bad rep? Never understood why people just couldn't enjoy a good guitar twang and plenty of old-fashioned togetherness? Just wanna have a good folkin' time on a bright, cheery Saturday? Jeremy Drake (of Parallel Play) and Joel Fruth (of the Prophet Bar) hear you loud and clear, and have teamed up to bring you the first annual Deep Ellum Big Folkin’ Festival, a folk-alternative event that’ll be sure to satisfy you no matter what kind of folk you’re into. Filled to the brim with local Dallas/Forth Worth acts, the Deep Ellum Big Folkin’ Festival’s got everything you need: Americana, singer/songwriter, blues, cowpunk, rookts, rockabilly and so much more, with everything between.

With 4 stages and 20+ bands, you can bet there’s bound to be a whole lotta fun! Expect performances from Ryan Thomas Becker, Parallel Play, Telegraph Canyon, The O’s, Possessed by Paul James, Dovetail, Kirby Brown, Horse Thief, and plenty more. Check out their Facebook event for the full line-up and schedule, and get pumped ’cause we’re gonna help you score some tickets to this new, awesome event!

Thanks to the folks at The Deep Ellum "BFF",  we’ve got a giveaway for all you folk fans.

Here’s what you have to do:

On Monday (3/26):

Follow Radio UTD and Deep Ellum Big Folkin' Festival on Twitter.

Retweet our tweet we got about the festival before 5PM.

On Tuesday (3/27) or Wednesday (3/28)::

Like Radio UTD and the Big Folkin’ Festival on Facebook

RSVP to the Facebook event, and post a cool sentence with the track of the band you want to see the most tagging @Radio UTD.

Remember: you have to do all of these steps on the appropriate days to be eligible! Tagging/liking is imperative, so make sure you've got the sentence on the right wall.

The contest ends on Wednesday, March 28th at 5PM.You can still get tickets online for $12 or at the door for $15, but why not enjoy all this music for free!

Tell a friend on Facebook, Twitter, with a carrier pigeon, whatever works for you. Just be sure to let everyone know where to be this Saturday!

The Modern Art Tour

How seriously do you take yourself? This tour presented by Modern Art Records and Consequence of Sound might take itself a little bit too seriously on a few accounts. Swimming through a few layers of pretension, the Prophet Bar hosted Pretty & Nice, Chain Gang of 1974, Geographer, and Miniature Tigers last Friday night. Currently the bands are about halfway through the tour and if you can brave the attitude, we recommend making it out to one of the remaining dates.

Pretty & Nice

Guitar and bass driven trio from Boston, Pretty & Nice open the set on the tour. The band is the smallest of the four on tour, and they were clearly relishing the opportunity to tour with their better known label mates. Their music felt pretty basic and predictable, but the energy the band brought made them an enjoyable live act. The backup guitarist consistently made goofy faces during key moments in songs and was jumping around like a five year old. Everything felt a little forced and fake, but the band’s excitement was undeniable.

Chain Gang of 1974

Here the attitude really started to ooze. Lead man Kamtin Mohager looked distinctly separate from his band. Leather jacket and precisely laid hair (think Grease)—he was going for a look and let you know it. The rest of the band seemed like normal guys just playing another gig. After coming on 15 minutes late since Pretty & Nice ran over, they had a very extended soundcheck. During the first two songs Mohager fiddled with power cords and extensions, as they apparently needed even more set up time.

First they presented a drone-filled side with deep, angry vocals. Mohager was violently swaying with the microphone stand. At one point he curled into a ball on stage. His actions felt contrived and insincere, for the act of it all. Chain Gang of 1974’s music felt as disjointed as the band members looked. Close on the heels of such an intense active singing display, they bust out in disco beats and dance anthems. Now jumping around at the edge of the stage, Mohager’s alcohol-infested breath showered the first two rows of fans. His insolent, entitled attitude came to the forefront and the end of their set, during the band’s catchiest tune “Hold On.” He prefaced the song with his only extended banter of the night: “you guys had better be fucking moving or else you can go fuck yourselves”. When the crowd was not sufficiently following his demands, Mohager proceeded to enter the crowd to create the atmosphere he wanted. Their music is palatable, but the attitude brought on stage did not lend itself to very high respect.

Geographer

Due to an extended set from Chain Gang and their lengthy soundcheck, Geographer made it on stage at 10:30, 45 minutes after their scheduled appearance. Their set got cut short as they ended only 15 minutes late. The band brought a more tender, easygoing attitude to the stage. Front man guitarist and singer Michael Deni was donning a purple tank top and cellist Nathan Blaz had a deep V neck. Both had their fair share of electronics to play with, while Brian Ostreicher stood steady on the drums. Their laid back tone and appearance was a breath of fresh air.

They played a good mix of songs off of their 2010 EP Animal Shapes and new songs from recent full length Myth. EP Stand outs "Verona" and "Original Sin" both made the set list. Without a bass guitar, the groove had to come from somewhere else—the cello. Blaz was looping and running effects pedals with his electric cello and filled in an enormous amount of sonic space with his craft.

The crowd was incredibly receptive and a fair majority were dancing with dignity abandoned. It was pretty easily one of the best crowds I've seen in my Dallas concert-going experience. After the closer, "Kites," they chanted for at least 2 solid minutes while the band broke down their equipment for one more song. Deni reluctantly tapped the mic and once he had sound promised to come back to Dallas, and denied an encore since they are “touring with their good friends” who need time as well. Geographer really capture the crowd and their soft spoken tone and attitude made them all the more charming.

Miniature Tigers

As headlining act of the tour and most popular band, Miniature Tigers had a lot to live up to after the standard set by Geographer. The grips of pretension are strong on the band. Three of the members were dressed in suits, while the drummer and backup guitarist went for a more modeled grungy look. Bassist Alex Gerber looked like a polished first-day-of-work businessman action figure with rolled up sleeves and suspenders. He was constantly making silly faces and gestures trying to make jokes with the crowd. It felt like a facade to match the polished, multi-jointed pop songs that the band makes.

Miniature Tigers played to adoring fans and the energy in the crowd was again fantastic. Cries for “The Wolf” were not satiated, but every song turned into a sing-a-long and dance party at some point. Their music seems self-satisfying and selfish in attitude with lyrics like “she don’t believe in god, she only believes in me” from the lead song off their latest album, titled "Sex on the Regular." Their indie-pop appeal is undeniable and their musical proficiency was well-displayed live. Their set ended on a comical note as electronics/keys man Algernon Quashie accidentally restarted the laptop loop for the beginning of the song.

SXSW 2012: Wednesday, By a Confused Guy

Finding parking was by far the easiest part of the day. Why? Because at 11:30 AM on Wednesday March 14th, it was the heat of SXSW Music Season. I ran up a very steep hill in sheer jubilation just thinking about what I was about to see. Great thing was, I had no freaking idea what that meant. South by Southwest is what ACL would be with a few extra days, a lot more space, and a bigger rolodex of promoters, bands and record companies. Possibly the biggest rolodex. All I knew at the start was I was going to meet a friend at the seminal Austin disc joint, Waterloo Records. For a genre-cluttered individual, it was going to be akin to a day at every single theme park I’d been to combined.

Tribes (Camden, London, England) For a band that comes from the fashion forward underground of England, you expect Tribes to be too cool for school. And they were just that, except that they were nice about it. The lead singing of Johnny Lloyd is clean and emotive, but not too heavily so. The guitar maintained just enough dissonance to capture the conflict in the songs but also show the contrast of beautiful melody. All in all, this was a very enjoyable warmup to the day. Tribes is a wonderful tribute to the grunge rock greats of the past, with a hint more cleanliness.

Foxy Shazam (Cincinatti, Ohio) What. In. The. Lord’s. Name. Honestly, watching Foxy Shazam walk into the prep trailer while Tribes was playing and hearing the uproarious cheer when it was announced that they were up next at Waterloo said enough. But the Ohio revival of glam rock, especially lead singer Eric Nally, always has more to say. Foxy Shazam was by far the most insane and awesome thing I saw on Wednesday. In between powerful arena rock homages to “black ass” reminiscent of Queen mixed with 80’s hair metal mixed with Metallica were interludes of cigarette eating, standing on keyboards, and trumpet humping. Nally had a voice that is best described as a mélange between Freddy Mercury, Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta and Justin Hawkins of The Darkness. All in all, this was a trip. Also, the keyboardist looked like Scott Ian from Anthrax, which I thought was hilarious.

Anoraak (Paris, France) I have been following Anoraak since they put out a fantastic mix of chill electronic disco grooves in 2008. The trio is the epitome of French electronica today. I was actually a little surprised at how few people were at the Bayou Lounge to see them. However, this did mean I got to be 5 feet away from awesome synth lines, danceable guitar and bass, and some tight nu disco drums. They were also such a polite group, thanking the audience repeatedly for giving them a warm welcome to Texas and asking timidly for the crowd to move up to them, claiming "we don’t bite." I thoroughly enjoyed grooving to their live versions of what normally are very chill songs. When performed live, these are some solid dancing tracks. I was so happy to be able to shake the lead singer’s hand and tell him thank you for coming to Austin. This was my starstruck moment for the day, and I’m very content with it.

Fun. (New York City, New York) Glee made the crowd at Waterloo Records to see Fun. behemoth. It was filled with small children and their parents, tweens, so called 'fratstars,' hipsters and over 40 types. You have to give the super group credit for pulling such a diverse audience with just one song. “We are Young” made this the most crazy crowd I encountered all day. I was pleasantly surprised by the set that the band put on. There were no drums, making this a completely acoustic set. Nate Ruess’ voice was spot on to the records, and the harmonies and subtle beauty of guitar and piano shone through. The band played their hits from both Aim and Ignite and Some Nights and finished with an interesting rendition of “We Are Young”. Considering the lack of percussion, I was skeptical about whether this set and the finale would pull through, but the energy was just as infectious. Fun. definitely proved why they should be on the radio.

K Flay (Palo Alto, California) I had no idea what to expect when waiting outside Antone’s at the Pandora Discovery Den to see K Flay. Initially, this was supposed to be a way to get a good spot for Big K.R.I.T., but it turned into an awesome surprise. With the rise of female rappers such as Dessa and J. Natural, K Flay definitely belongs among this movement. She is terse yet succinct, complex yet pronounced. Her on the spot beatmaking is so exciting, and the way she moves exhibits an entirely different swag for rap. She is a rockstar, punk rapper. Her ability to jump around stage while delivering lines of about waiting for tax returns is nothing shy of impressive. This was possibly my favorite find of the day.

Big K.R.I.T. (Meridian, Mississippi) Big K.R.I.T. was, as I expected to be, fashionably late to his set at Antone’s. As DJ Terry Urban remarked, "he’s definitely very stoned." But the buildup was massive, and when he finally got on stage, Mississippi-shaped pendant and all, it was a full-on bass and country fest. Big K.R.I.T. was as South as South could get, and had the entire crowd bobbing their heads vigorously and leaning back with every beat drop. The thing I love about rap acts is that MCs are able to deliver their lyrics with the full emotion that it deserves because they don’t have to worry about instrumentation. Big K.R.I.T. is a master of this art, and so I was able to feel what he was saying while jamming, as it were. This was definitely one of the most exciting times I’ve had at a concert.

Theophilus London (Brooklyn, New York) This was the perfect end to the night for me. I’ve been into Theophilus since his Green Label Sound track "Humdrum Town," and this set did not disappoint. He walked in with a ragtag crew of guitarist, bassist, and DJ, wearing a rose pattern hijab. And he came on hard. He dictated to the sound men and light men what to do with the stage and used it to create a passion play of sorts. He flirted with girls on stage and reinvented songs like “Big Spender” and the Pinky and the Brain theme song into some of the most infectious beats I’ve ever heard. He crowd surfed, jumped on and off the stage, and just played with the entire venue. This was definitely the most thrilling and visually vivid hip hop show I’ve ever seen, and only a thin second to Foxy Shazam in showmanship. Theophilus knows how to hype a crowd. He’s the bad and good boy of rap at the same time.

White Denim hails from Austin, TX and have gained prominence with nostalgic rock, and a little hint of psychedelia. To get pumped for their arrival to our Springapalooza Concert this upcoming Tuesday, we're finding 4 of our favorite White Denim videos. The perfect plan: 1) Check these videos 2) Clear all plans for Tuesday night 3) Party with us and White Denim. Done? Done.

5. "Let's Talk About It"

4. "Anvil Everything"

3. "Drug"

2. "Shake Shake Shake"

1. "Street Joy" Hearya Live Session

Our event kicks off at 7:30PM this upcoming Tuesday, March 20th. Free giveaways, drinks, and fun. RSVP here. Hope you guys are ready!

A mixture of blues, funk and pop, Nikka Costa's music is always sure to get you movin' and groovin'. Becoming active in America when her single "Like a Feather" was featured in a Tommy Hilfiger commercial, Costa's been blowing minds all over with her interesting mix of styles and ideas to create the perfect blues-funk sound. Working with folks like Lenny Kravitz and Mark Ronson has kept Costa going long and strong, and with the help of SUAAB, we've got her a spot on the Extremely Awesome Concert!

Not sure if you'll be coming down Tuesday, March 20th to groove with us? Here's a few fun Nikka Costa facts that might change your mind:

Costa was born in Tokyo, Japan and--thanks to father and notable producer Don Costa--spent her childhood traveling the world.

Costa actually got her first break at the age of 5 and became a child star soon after! She was featured on her father's Beatles cover album, Don Costa Plays the Beatles, and even sang with Frank Sinatra at the age of 9.

While America was just catching up to Costa, she'd already had careers in Europe and Australia. Thanks to husband/Australian producer Jusin Stanley, Costa released her 1996 Australian effort, Butterfly Rocket, and previously maintained a successful career in Europe as a child star.

Still not convinced? Come on down Tuesday and let Costa speak--or sing!--for herself! RSVP here and let us know you're rolling through! Nikka will be performing with Man Factory, Gallery Cat, and White Denim. Trust us, it's gonna be a party from start to finish!

As audiences gathered at South Side Music Hall last night hoping to catch SBTRKT on the first date of their US tour, the challenge between Aaron Jerome and touring partner, Sampha was being able to capture the venue.

SBTRKT, pseudonym of London-based DJ/producer Aaron Jerome, has been linked with anonymity since its conception. As to not place a barrier against the music produced, Jerome's goal at the very most is to purely connect the audience with SBTRKT's music.

In live shows, Jerome is joined with Sampha, the man behind the vocals of the most recent self-titled album. Opening with "Heatwave," SBTRKT sets the tone for how the rest of the night turned out to be: layered synth, mesmerizing vocals, and Jerome on live drums. Setting SBTRKT apart from many similar musicians are the rooted tribal sounds, adding to the effect the masks that Jerome and Sampha wear during the performance. Working through the rest of the album, the show addresses both heartbreak, and also takes "Hold On"'s advice of "turning the leaf" having house-based tunes "Pharaohs" that allowed a change of mood and bass takeover in the venue.

The whole night was a dance party to say the least. As most concerts go, the ability to execute such music is always a task for electronic musicians. Ending the set Drake's remix of "Wildfire" and "Never Never," a majority of last night's performance was based on remixes of the originals, chopping and improvisation of how SBTRKT wants you to feel. Sampha and Jerome's chemistry the whole night showed that SBTRKT was there for ultimately, the music. Taking turns initiating hand claps, the duo had the audience going.

SBTRKT has came far since the album's release in July. And it's no wonder how Jerome and Sampha are able to sell out shows across the globe. Jerome is doing much more than twisting buttons and Sampha's vocals bring audiences back to pure R&B nostalgia. When labeled as "post-dub," in the likes of James Blake, Flying Lotus, SBTRKT provides variety in live performances, and sometimes, that's exactly what everyone needs to dance and sing along.

Author's side note: Ishi was the first opener for the night and had the audience dancing, as per usual. The band also did a Bizarre Love Triangle cover and had me wondering, "do 70% of the people in here really not know this song, or too afraid to sing along?" Come on, guys.

[caption id="attachment_9791" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Photo credit: Peter Hutchins"][/caption]

Last Tuesday night at Trees, you couldn't have found a group of musical acts that were move captivating than who performed.

Kishi Bashi performed first, the outfit being the solo work of K Ishibashi, along with his electric violin and foot pedal. Each pluck of a string made fantastic ethereal noises, and when paired with his piercing voice, usually looped in several different patterns, Kishi Bashi made an impact in the crowd. The audience swayed gently to the man's set, and after a few songs, Ishibashi left the stage.

Up next was Roman GianArthur. Armed with a guitar, a drummer, and checkered disco pants, GianArthur helped warm up the audience even further with his very danceable covers, including Radiohead's "High and Dry" and LCD Soundsystem's "Daft Punk is Playing at My House." At the end of his set, playing an original song, GianArthur descended into the crowd, where he carved out a small circle and encouraged people to jump in and dance around. GianArthur brought the funk.

After the artful skill demonstrated by Kishi Bashi and Roman GianArthur's ability to get the crowd pumped, everyone was restless and pushed up against the stage, eager for of Montreal to come out. Eventually, the lights dimmed, and most of the members of the band (including K Ishibashi) manned their stations behind various instruments as everyone cheered and went nuts. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Kevin Barnes stepped on stage, with glittering blue eye makeup and his finest red ruffled shirt under a casual blazer, causing the audience to explode in reverence of the musician. Taking his seat behind a keyboard synth, with pious expression painted on his face, of Montreal started to play the first track from Paralytic Stalks, "Gelid Ascent," building up power, with interesting visuals projected onto white screens behind and in front of the band (which happened continuously until of Montreal quit), making fans beg for more, until they played "Spiteful Intervention" immediately afterwards, where actors in black body suits held up large plastic bags stuffed with white balloons, emulating fluffy clouds. The actors then tossed the bags into the crowd where, after being bullied and pushed into the air after a few smacks, the bags burst apart, scattering the white balloons, which were continuously beat back into the air throughout the night.

Countless situations involving stage actors occurred: when "Nonpareil of Favor" was played, and men in white body suits would alternate between crouching down and gently touching members of the audience and then standing tall and raising fists in the air, while having images projected onto their bodies; during "Forecast Fascist Future" (after Kevin Barnes had removed his jacket and sassily danced about on stage when "I Was Never Young" with hands gleefully placed on his hips), an actor in all white, with a wonderful white judge's wig, stood proud on the stage with two others in all black, until the end of the song, where the other actors started to attack the wigged one, shaking him violently, stripping him down, and pushing him to the ground; at one point, even a giant white creature covered in hair was brought out, formed by two actors atop each other, while another two stood behind, waving what resembled two pairs of squid tentacle-ends from behind the large mass, and of course more crazy light patterns were tossed upon the large thing.

If the grandiose displays on stage weren't enough to excite the crowd, people were grooving out to the many funky songs that Barnes and his ensemble had to offer, such as "Suffer For Fashion" and "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games." In between a few songs, the only time Kevin Barnes would acknowledge the crowd, breaking his powerful stage demeanor, would be to brush his long hair and give a quiet "thank you."

Once the set was completed, after performing the lengthy "Authentic Pyrrhic Remission", the crowd started screaming for an encore. It was then that Roman GianArthur and a contemporary of his came on stage and had everyone chant "encore" as GianArthur gave his best beatboxing. Eventually, of Montreal was satisfied with the given enthusiasm and returned to the stage. Here, the group did a mash-up of songs from Skeletal Lamping, only playing a couple of minutes of each, including tracks like "Wicked Wisdom" and "Gallery Piece," all while Kevin Barnes moved about at the front of the stage (and the crowd mimicking his enthusiasm, too). They ended the encore with two full songs, first being "Id Engager," then ending with "Gronlandic Edit." The group then left the stage with smiles perched upon their faces, as Barnes waved goodbye to his fans.

Frankly, the show was a fantastic spectacle, and if you weren't there, you certainly missed out on a great time. If you get the chance to catch of Montreal in the future, it's highly recommended you check them out (maybe even try to see them at SXSW this week.)

Self-described as "crunk," "ghettotech" and indie, Dallas native Gallery Cat, also known as Angelo Gonzales, has been a big name in the Dallas hip-hop scene with his unique blend of styles and wide range of influences. With his first two albums, BiPolaroidd and I'm Doing Fine, released within a few months of each other in 2009, Gallery Cat has been on the move, touring the country and getting the best out of fans and crowds with his high energy shows. With the help of SUAAB, we've snagged him a spot on the Extremely Awesome Concert!

Here's some fun facts to bring your body and your friends out on Tuesday, March 20th to see this hip-hop banger:

1. "I'm Doin' Fine," his second album, was recorded on a "one-take system.

Each song was recorded in one take and put on the album, regardless of sound. Good to know he's down with experimentation!

2. Gonzales actually plans to release a free album for every album he's downloaded. Everybody loves a good guy, but this is on a whole 'nother level!

3. All his albums are free online on his website. Grab them all, learn the words, and get ready!

Gallery Cat will be performing with Nikka Costa, Man Factory, and White Denim. Get into it and RVSP here.

1. Street Fighter fans for life

Power pop tunes based completely on the Street Fighter game series. What? Yeah.

2. Recommend if you like: Dancing

Songs catchy and upbeat to make you dance. And we're not just saying that because we're from Radio UTD.

3. Their fans start young

Check the video that the students of Pulaski Elementary School created for their annual school play. If that isn't inspiration, I'm not quite sure what is.

5. They rule live

Don't even need to explain it.

5. The ball is still rolling

Still working on a third installment of the three-series Street Fighter. They've already came out with Street Fight! Round One, and Street Fight!! Round Two. And it ain't stopping there.

Get ready to fight. Tuesday, March 20th. RSVP here.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Tanner Merritt from O’Brother over the weekend during their first headlining tour to talk about everything from strange recording techniques to walking around in Juarez, Mexico for fun. We sat down in front of the stage in the dark backroom of The Bryan Street Tavern while Fun played over the loud speaker.

So, how has the tour been?

Tanner Merritt: It’s been going really well. The past few days have been rough because everyone has been sick.

How has the co-headlining this tour? How has that been different from your last tours?

TM: This is the first co-headlining tour that we’ve done, and the last tours we’ve done were supporting tours, opening for bigger bands. It’s interesting, I mean they’re obviously much smaller shows, but it’s cool because we have a lot of kids coming out to see specifically us. Yeah, so it’s a different animal altogether.

Okay, so let’s talk about Garden Window. I understand you spent a lot of time recording it—do you think that contributed to the album?

TM: It definitely contributed to the album. I mean, we did a couple of short tours between recording songs and stuff, and we were able to step away from it and come back to it with fresh ideas. It’s not like we were working with someone who’s a big name producer, so everyone was in it as a trial and error experience. We were all kind of working at it and trying to make it work because it was the only means that we had available to us at the time.

You recorded it with Favorite Gentlemen again, right? Andy Hull and Robert McDowell (of Manchester Orchestra) recorded it?

TM: Yeah, and Robert had some engineering when he recorded his own solo record, Gobotron. Michael, our drummer, also had some engineering experience.

[caption id="attachment_9759" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Garden Window"][/caption]

You said in a past interview that you wanted your album to sound dirtier and to transcend genres. What made that change in your playing?

TM: I think it was just the way we progressed as a live band. We were constantly getting louder and more aggressive, but chilled out at the same time. We kind of wanted to go in all those directions at once.

We there any songs in the album that gave you a particularly hard time, or songs that you liked more than the others?

TM: The last song (“Last Breath”) gave us some trouble. We had to fix things and restructure it a really long time before we were really happy with it. There were a couple of songs that we had to go back and re-track all of Anton’s bass parts because we recorded it wrong. Not that he played it badly. (Anton walking by: "I played that part fine, dude!") I’m being nice right now, Anton. It was terrible.

As far as songs that I’m really happy with, I think “Easy Talk” turned out really great. We did a lot of weird stuff on it and I was really stoked with the way that it came out.

What do you think is your favorite song to play live?

TM: “Poison!” I like things with more dynamic range.

I know the album just came out, but have you started making anything for another album possibly?

TM: We’ve really just been touring, but we’ve jammed a couple of times. When we get home from this tour we’re planning on writing a lot more. Right when the album came out, I was just ready to make another one, we had just been working on it that long.

Back to the tour. I was wondering how you got to doing supporting tours with Thrice and Manchester Orchestra.

TM: We knew Manchester from playing in town because we’re both from Atlanta. We knew them before they were big. Before this final line-up of O’Brother came out they were just really supportive and wanted to help us in anyway they could because they were just blowing up. Manchester’s booking agent also books Thrice and now he is our booking agent. So that’s kind of how all of that came about. When Thrice wanted to do a tour with Manchester, Andy (lead singer of Manchester Orchestra) said “we need to take out this band O’Brother, they’re on our label.”

I see you guys have a pretty exciting tour life.

TM: We keep it real.

What is your weirdest tour story?

TM: We’ve played some really weird places… Oh, there was this one time we were on tour with Manchester and we had a day off. We booked a hotel in El Paso, Texas and we realized none of us had been to Mexico, so we decided to cross the bridge into Juarez, Mexico. There were people standing around in the streets with AK-47’s. We found out later that it was actually the most dangerous city in the world that is not a warzone, and there’s like little kids tugging on your pants asking you for money. It was scary and we were all like “we need to get the hell out of here.”

At least you didn’t get stopped by border patrol or something.

TM: Yeah... well, actually, no. On the way back in to Texas... Now, you don’t need a passport to go in to Mexico, but to come back out you do, and I was an idiot. I did not have a passport at that time, so they gave me a lot of shit about that. They just gave me a talking to for a minute. I mean, I’m pretty American. I don’t know if you can tell, there’s not much of an accent here. Just your normal Caucasian, English speaking guy. I probably would have lasted… maybe two hours over there.

Also be sure to read our review of O'Brother's latest release, Garden Window. Check out a sample on Spotify below.

[spotify:track:5A8pY28ZzMiW09OvXwv6cY]

A wrap up to the weekend, it'll be hard to recover from this one. While Built To Spill took over Jesus and Mary Chain's spot, Grandlake aka Grandaddy's Jason Lytle and Midlake rocked it. We had a lot of fun this weekend and props to the 35 Denton team for putting it all together. Now to sleep for the next month...

Built to Spill

Built to Spill’s frontman Doug Martsch didn’t say much except the occasional “Thank you”, but the crowd didn’t care, as the audience was packed for the biggest show of the night (Sorry, Jesus and Mary Chain fans). While they weren’t speaking, the band definitely wasn’t apathetic either, evidenced by the level of focus they dedicated to their instruments, tuning and tightening up between every few songs. At one point Martsch looked visibly dismayed by the feedback coming from the mic, but that was only a minor hitch in a solid show. The crowd jammed out to their favorite songs for the hour and a half set, some die-hard fans and some just coming to see what the fuss is about. Either way, it was a fitting end for the main stage performances. - Chelsea Upton

Grandlake

Most attendees didn’t know what to expect out of the combination of Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle and Denton’s own Midlake, but thankfully the result was something quite magical. “Balloon Maker” was the only Midlake song played as frontman Tim Smith explained how lucky they were to be playing songs they all loved listening to growing up. Lytle sported a Steve Zissou look and was humble as can be, continuously thanking the audience, admiring Midlake’s talent, and playing from fan-favorite The Sophomore Slump. Lytle and Midlake created a perfect balance of referring to the charm of the recorded works and adding new live components for an experience that was both highly nostalgic and refreshing. The last song, “A.M. 180,” was both the high point and a perfect end to an intensely pleasurable set. - Zachary Brown

The Raincoats

There was a lot of anticipation about The Raincoats this weekend, as these legendary Brits have put out more than their fair share of amazing work. Not surprisingly they conquered the hearts of the festival goers with their spunky, kooky vocals and genuine enthusiasm. The ladies cracked jokes about not being able to solve a rubik’s cube and how they talk too much, eventually lamenting the fact that they didn’t have enough time to play as long as they wanted. - Chelsea Upton

Dum Dum Girls

People were really starting to arrive as the Dum Dum Girls began their set, as the festival seemed much more crowded than it had on previous nights. The crowd packed in a little tighter while enjoying the good weather, generally happy that the sun was out and the festival grounds were no longer a frozen death-like wasteland of misery. While definitely enjoyable, the Dum Dum Girls seemed like they were phoning it in a bit, perhaps because they had just arrived in Denton from their flight. Despite this, “Bedroom Eyes” and “Coming Down” were nicely executed, sweet summertime harmonies that the crowd happily swayed to. - Chelsea Upton

Light Asylum

After a fairly empty dance floor at Hailey's, the final act, Light Asylum, stepped up to the stage, having some kind of magnetic-audience effect, drawing a crowd around the base of the platform. Once the synths started going and singer Shannon Funchess started belting out her all with her powerful, masculine voice, it was as if a strong force pushed over the previously still crowd and forced everyone to obey the duo's dance commands. While Bruno Corviello stood silently behind the machines, pushing out heavy bass beats with synth and laser sound effects littered about, Funchess delivered perfectly emotional lyrics paired with dynamic, industrial-style dancing, consisting mostly of organized punches shot into the air above and wild stomping. Definitely, the best part of the performance was when Funchess stepped out from behind her drum machine to go to the front of the stage to sing "Dark Allies," where the audience suddenly broke into frantic dancing as "nail me to the cross in the darkest alley" broke free from Funchess's lips, all while the singer shook violently, smashed her fists into invisible men, and showed the strength of the dark themes found in Light Asylum. - Trace McCaslin

Outernational

“Everyone go outside, there’s a rock show going on!” a tipsy woman exclaimed from the inside of The Labb. Luckily for the patrons, this rock show was far more entertaining than anything that was going on indoors. The word “energetic” doesn’t quite fit, seeing as Outernational were an explosion of take-no-prisoners socially conscious latin rock, with the lead singer Miles Solay preaching to the crowd in a moment that seemed very similar to Sirus’ speech in The Warriors. Solay’s dancing was unreal, a combination of kicks and jumps that would tire out a normal human being in five minutes, but Solay kept it going for the full set. Energetic? Psh. Outernational is electrifying. - Chelsea Upton

Teengirl Fantasy

Opening up before Light Asylum, Teengirl Fantasy was the perfect warm up for the next group, showing their most danceable tracks, mixed with their interesting background effects and fuzzy lyrics (even using Michael Jackson's voice looped into a track), creating an atmosphere much like an underground bar giving patrons one last good song before closing up. Though some more experimental tracks left a lot to be desired, Teengirl did make some bodies move. - Trace McCaslin

35D happens rain or shine. With the extensive line-up last night, we had a whole lot of fun shuffling in the rain (we said it, shuffling). Atlas Sound in the rain, Bun B bringing it down in the rain, Bad Sports mosh pit, Main Attrakionz, we are too spoiled sometimes.

Best Coast

The scene was the antithesis of what one would expect from a summery pop-rock group, with a crowd dotted with umbrellas, shielding audience members from the rain, and a nighttime sky blanketing the sun. This, however, didn’t stop Best Coast from putting on a show with feel good melodies and sing-a-long lyrics that made everyone feel like the sun was beating down on a beach concert. The band pulled out all the stops, playing favorites like “Sun Was High (So Was I)”, “When I’m With You”, and finishing the set with “Boyfriend”; additionally, a couple of songs coming from their new record were announced and jammed. Lead singer Bethany Cosentino commented in between songs, joking about the cold (“This is the most smoke that’s ever come out of my mouth…psyche!”) and also promoting Planned Parenthood, who was spreading information around the festival. Best Coast definitely had everyone out of the rainy day blues and on a sandy shore somewhere, dancing the cold away. – Trace McCaslin

Atlas Sound

Eight minutes before his set was about to start Bradford Cox, the man who is Atlas Sound, announced that he was going to go ahead and start early.

“I’m afraid that my hands…. might get cold,” explained a bemused Cox, “I thought I was coming to summer.”

For the other bands the rain was a drag, but not for Atlas Sound. The steady raindrops enhanced the introspective mood, the perfect backdrop for Cox’s atmospheric sound.

“I wish I could loop the rain,” he mused “All of my songs are rainy-day songs.”

The substantial crowd that had arrived remained transfixed, caring less about their frozen, wet feet than the intimate croonings of Bradford Cox, which subtly commanded the crowd’s full attention. “Te Amo” was a soaring high point of emotion, while the much more brooding “Terra Incognita” was the picture of thoughtful melancholy.

Of course, after last week’s incident, Bradford Cox was not going to escape the shouts of “My Sharona!”, which he playfully ignored.

“Let it die, people,” he joked “It wasn’t even that funny. It was just sad.” – Chelsea Upton

Chapter 24

When we arrived at 35 Denton Saturday afternoon, we were a little bummed out by the rain, which definitely didn’t work in the favor of some of the earlier main stage acts. The UK’s Chapter 24 churned out as much energy as they could to combat the sluggish downpour, but the results were mixed. Frontwoman Clare Smith packed a powerful vocal punch, with an oddball singing style most relatable to Fred Schnieder of the B-52’s, while the rest of the band churned out a danceable, rockabilly set. – Chelsea Upton

Sore Losers

Dallas’ experimental hip-hop group Sore Losers suffered from the same issue as Chapter 24- the rain made for a pretty lackluster audience. With a few power-chords the band was able to get the crowd moving (at least for a little bit), while doling out some dance instructions (Dance instructions as follows: Take to steps two the left. Take two steps to the right. Repeat). For the slower numbers the crowd’s attention waned, with the exception of a remix of “Paradise” by Coldplay, which sufficed as an energy-renewal anthem. – Chelsea Upton

Bare Wires

By the time Bare Wires took the stage the crowd at Andy’s had already been treated to some pretty impressive punk rock, so it’s fair to say that there was a lot of anticipation about what Bare Wires had in store. From the first second to the last the band performed dynamically, strutting around to the tune of their own fuzzed-out garage rock. Learning from the band’s example, the crowd danced and boogied while Bare Wires stomped their feet and flung their heads about. The pushing and shoving from the earlier shows transformed into a high-energy dance party, a rollicking good time for everyone involved. – Chelsea Upton

Natural Child

Announcing that their next album was to be released on 4/20, psychedelic rock band Natural Child set the mood for their show: a lo-fi rock out with plenty of crazy hair thrashing, complete with lyrics ranging from anything to smoking blunts to late night exploits. While the band made their noise, a portion of the crowd decided to get rough, creating a small pit with enough credibility to be a mosh, where drunken visitors of Andy’s stumbled and hopped around the room to Natural Child’s guitar riffs and drum smashing. – Trace McCaslin

Bad Sports

With punk rock hormones already stimulated thanks to opening act Idiots, Bad Sports acted as a powerful steroid that pumped rebellious juices into every onlooker. We were lucky enough to catch Orville Bateman Neeley III with OBN III's at Fun Fun Fun Fest, but he seemed much more at home with Bad Sports and comfortable in the small venue setting. Bad Sports harbored the biggest crowd at Andy's last night, and not just because of their local fame. Proving both brash and cocksure, bassist Daniel Fried responded to audience requests by explaining, "We've calculated a set list for maximum enjoyment. We can't take requests from all the lesser peons." The audience quickly dispatched their cries and happily accepted anything the band had to throw at them, including favorites "Teenage Girls" and "Should've Known"  which inspired a wave of uninterupted bouncing and chanting. – Zachary Brown

New Science Projects

As New Science Projects' lead vocalist Dale Jones stepped in front of the packed crowd, eyes wild and face covered in dirt and stage blood, you could tell from the look the bandmates gave him that they had no idea what he would do tonight. The group raged and thrashed with a short but sweet set as Dale pestered the audience with lines like "Hey, um, I've got something I want to say..." before trailing off forgetfully into the the next song, bandmates still laughing. The climax of the show came when the drummer apparently fractured her wrist in the middle of the show—amazingly, she pressed on and they even gave an encore, with drummer visibly wailing in pain the entire time. Shouts for "one more" continued to ring from the audience, with "shut up" coming just as vigorously. – Patrick Hofsommer

'Twas a fun time in Denton last night. Though many venues reached capacity and most often had "one in, one out" rules (particularly Hailey's, where about 100 at a time stood waiting for Class Actress and Hood Internet), there was still fun to be had. Some of our staff danced and sweated to some spectacular performances last night. Here's our take on Friday night.

The Mountain Goats

By the end of the main stage performances it was decidedly chilly, but luckily the audience had built up enough anticipation for John Darnielle and the rest of The Mountain Goats to distract them. A cheer arose as Darnielle took the stage, quickly delighting fans with his sharp wit and impressive vocabulary (particularly enjoyable: dilapidated). Even though the show was at the main stage the performance still felt rather intimate, with Darnielle telling jokes and anecdotes to the crowd as if he was their old friend. When not entertaining the crowd with this stories about Hobart, Tasmania and and illegal drug use, Darnielle riled up the crowd with enthusiastic renditions of "No Children", "Old College Try", and "Damn These Vampires". The most poignant moment, though, was when Darnielle requested that the videographers cease filming him while performing his emotional song about the hell of high school, "You Were Cool". Afterwards he closed out with the most anticipated song of the night (a song that he assured us repeatedly, would come at the end), "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton", while the crowd enthusiastically chanted "Hail Satan!" along with him. Due to the sincere chants for an encore, The Mountain Goats granted Denton an amazing performance of "Houseguest", which included Darnielle getting up close and personal with the cameramen. - Chelsea Upton

The Hood Internet

The production duo that is The Hood Internet, Aaron Brink and Steve Reidell, are most notable for their mashups of hip-hop lyrics and indie rock songs that in theory seem unrelated, but when layered on top of each other, make complete danceable sense. The two set up their DJ station on stage and did not fail to disappoint, creating an atmosphere similar to the coolest college house party, where not one person was being a wallflower. Eventually the dancing got crazy after a mashup of Rhianna vs Crystal Castles and people started flooding the stage to groove next to the duo, complete with drunken stumbles and a well executed stage dive. It was definitely a party till the place closed down. – Trace McCaslin

Class Actress

Sometimes a performer just has it, that enigmatic stage presence that commands the audience's full attention. Class Actress's Elizabeth Harper was the picture of effortless cool last night, sexy and compelling in a trench coat that would put Carmen Sandiego to shame, and a cooing voice that took the audience on a dark, synth-infested journey. Dark red lights illuminated Harper's profile as she wooed the audience with her seductive songs, and judging by the crowd's enthralled response, they were fully willing to go wherever she would take them. - Chelsea Upton

Woodsman

An unceasing, pounding drone filled the air as Woodsman took the stage at Rubber Gloves, and it was not to let up until they stepped off 45 minutes later. The Denver/Brooklyn-based psych rock group, oft-compared to indie darlings Animal Collective, shredded blasts of feedback and looped noise that resonated in the small space while a steady backbeat kept onlookers from drifting off to sleep. Though the band was mysteriously missing their famed second drummer, the atmosphere of the night didn't seem to suffer as a result. The vocalist's wordless shrieks echoed throughout the set, and the lead guitarist's intensely sparse melodies set a hazy and dreamlike mood, distracting the audience from their impending tinnitus. – Patrick Hofsommer

Burning Hotels

If you were looking to see a local band with the ability to rock out while inspiring the urgent need to dance in people, Friday night at Hailey’s was definitely the place. Ft. Worth's own Burning Hotels made the crowd groove to their irresistible new wave stylings, commanding the crowd's full attention with adept synth-work and catchy vocals. Whether you were slowly shuffling to the electronic beats or jumping around to the quick guitar strums, chances are you were moving. - Trace McCaslin

Peopleodian

Peopleodian, a local Denton band, played at a packed Andy's last night. A few songs into their set, the PA system went out and a mass confusion among the audience members alongside a Museum Creatures member yelling out “Turn up your vocals!” Then the fact settled in as sound team members scrambled across Andy’s to see what had just happened. Yet, Peopleodian, especially lead singer Ally Hoffman, kept singing without a beat missed. When the PA system came back on, a roar came from the audience and the show was back in full force. Past the technical difficulties throughout the night, the audience stayed optimistic, Peopleodian absorbed it and certainly delivered. - Daniel Zamorano

[caption id="attachment_9672" align="aligncenter" width="560" caption="High Places at Andy's"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9673" align="aligncenter" width="560" caption="Wiretree at Sweetwater"][/caption]

For a continuation on our coverage of the local bands playing at 35 Denton, we caught up with Two Knights (also known as Miles DeBruin and Parker Lawson), who will be playing Saturday night at J&J's.

Why "Two Knights"?

Um, I'm not really sure. It was just something dumb we made up when we were in high school and unfortunately we never changed it, haha.

You both have been playing together since you were in middle school. Does that give you a special ESP-like musical bond?

Haha, I'm not sure. Maybe. We spend the majority of our time together and pretty much think the same way, so it's pretty easy playing music together. It just sort of flows.

Parker— your finger-tapping technique has received a lot of praise for its uniqueness. Is there something you can point to as inspiration?

Well, I took piano lessons for a really long time growing up, and we started this band because Miles wanted to play drums (he had mainly played guitar before) and I wanted to play guitar, so we basically just learned the instruments together by playing "Dimension" by Wolfmother over and over. I was never very good at guitar, and when I saw people tapping on guitars I tried it out and I guess it came easier to me because of the piano. Plus it's way fun to play that way. It's also not all that unique—so many bands use it, all of them far better than anything I've done.

Not a lot of high school bands make it past graduation. What can you attribute your success to?

Well, I guess most bands that played in high school break up because they all go on and do different things. Miles and I, however, moved to the same college and room together, so it was pretty easy to keep it going, haha.

What do you hope people who see you at 35, who've never heard of Two Knights before, take away from your performance?

Well, I mean, I hope they like it, but the general consensus will probably be "these guys suck" or "these guys cry way too much."

Fun would probably be an understatement for what we experienced just last night. Though we only stuck around our showcase, we can already tell that 35 Denton is well on its way to be a force not to be reckoned with. Excited for the next few days. Check back with us daily, follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@radioutd) for live tweets and photos!

Final Club

We've been talking about Final Club for a while now (specifically our appreciation for the band's recently released album, Blank Entertainment), so we were excited to see what these Denton-natives had in store for us. Luckily, we got what we came for: unabashed punk melodies with a devil-may-care attitude. As a bonus, audience members also got to hear a sweet (and slightly insincere) song dedication to a cat named TJ. Congrats, Final Club, you've done TJ proud. - Chelsea Upton

Bleached

You might be more familiar with Jennifer and Jessica Clavin from Mika Miko, the popular punk outfit from L.A., but their new project Bleached is sure to catch on. Fast, dizzying, and inspired by vintage pop-punk acts like The Ramones and The New York Dolls, Bleached motivated their substantial audience to get on their feet (and in some cases, off). Barely two songs into their set, the crowd couldn’t contain their excitement, flinging their beers and cigarettes while pushing their way to the front. The retro-punk guitar clangs and muted drums whipped the crowd into a frenzy- dancing, singing, and shoving in an enthusiastically riotous response. While their sound certainly isn’t innovative, Bleached does the 70’s justice, with a performance that can be safely referred to as “memorable”. - Chelsea Upton

Mikal Cronin

Although the crowd thinned a little after the furious moshing during Bleached, one attendee's exclamation of "You're the reason we are here!" as Mikal set up on stage set the mood of endearement and companionship for the rest of the night. Cronin put on a more affable performance than the other acts of the night, but the set was in no way lacking in boisterous turbulence. Moving suddenly from jovial sing-alongs to intense tornados of distortion and simultaneous soloing, Cronin brought everything that the crowd needed. The switches in intensity were successful in showing the musical skill of both Mikal and Ty Segall. While Mikal belted out charming lyrics with his an achy-breaky voice, to the left Ty thrashed and soloed in accompaniment. It was extremely evident that every musician in the band was there to have fun with their friends, with Mikal and Ty often sending each smiles and congratulatory looks and instruments being switched among the members mid-song. Songs like "Apathy," "Get Along," and "Is It Alright" were favorites that inspired audience singing, but the highlight of the night was band's rendition of Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World," as an encore. As Mikal pushed his voice to its loudest point of the night, Ty raged off the stage in a guitar-fueled franzy that left him on the ground sharing space with fallen chairs and a foosball table. It was blindingly evident by the end of the night that Mikal Cronin was an established musician in his own right who happily accepts the help of his friends to perform. - Zachary Brown

Noisy, romantic, nostalgic music, a lead singer who’s better looking than Ryan Gosling, this is one show that can’t help but set a beautiful tone for a well-deserved spring break.

Having released two full-length albums and one EP, Girls have been consistently producing some of the most recognizable indie rock since their 2009 debut Album. Their latest record Father, Son, Holy Ghost topped many charts last year. With a new and improved live set-up, back-up singers and all, Girls’ performance this Friday promises to be life affirming.

Opening for Girls is Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The band of three hasn’t had as much time to percolate, but they’ve still gotten some recognition from the likes of Pitchfork with “Ffunny Ffriends” making Pitchfork’s Top 100 tracks of 2011. With members from New Zealand and Portland, Oregon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s music is never dull and frequently uplifting. They've toured with Portugal. The Man, and will be a headliner next time in town.

Girls and Unknown Mortal Orchestra will be performing at the great Granada Theater tonight. Tickets are still available to buy over at their website, or walk-up and experience. Going to be a great night.

Today's the day! Check back daily for the next few days for our coverage of 35 Denton, happening this weekend!

The Raincoats

5:00-5:45PM, Main Stage 2 You wouldn't be able to write a complete post-punk history without the legendary British act The Raincoats, who, despite a rocky band-dynamic, managed to put out innovative albums such as Odyshape and The Raincoats. Did I mention this band is legendary? I feel like I can't say that enough. - Chelsea Upton RiYL: The Slits, Grass Widow, Liliput

Psychedelic Horseshit

10:30-11:15PM, Andy's Psychedelic Horseshit's grimey blues offer a bountiful paragon of messy DIY sounds unmatched by any other lo-fi act around. Even after putting out over ten albums, vocalist Matt Whitehurst's combination of endless samples, backwards recordings, trashcans, bird chirps, and alien recordings makes it impossible to anticipate this bands next move. What we can anticipate, is a performance that will hypnotize, liberate, and kick ass. - Zachary Brown RiYL: Eat Skull, Pink Reason, The Hospitals

Midnite Society

10:30-11:15PM, Rubber Gloves Previous house members of the infamous Majestic Dwelling of Doom, Casey Oakes and Bill Cumfy comprise this experimental, psychedelic duo. Internet videos have yet to accurately capture the full body experience of their dark, droning beats that shake your bones. For a better taste of their self-described "pot-punk" tracks, download their EP, Solid Ghould Soul, on Bandcamp for free. -Laura Carroll RiYL: Elite Gymnastics, Iceage, drugs, opiates, swayin'

Peaking Lights

12:30-1:30AM, Rubber Gloves The last place one will suspect duo Peaking Lights would be from is Wisconsin. With 936 released just last year off Weird World, a strange blend of dub, krautrock, and some African rhythms goes to prove that this 'married couple' thing between the two seems to be working out just fine. -Trang Nguyen RiYL: Dirty Beaches, Warpaint, Tim Hecker

Also see:

Teengirl Fantasy

11:30-12:15, Hailey's RiYL: Grimes, Star Slinger, Pictureplane

Single day and four day wristbands are still available at 35Denton.com. Don't forget about our showcase featuring Mikal Cronin and Bleached happening tonight at The Labb! See you in Denton.