FRIDAY

Wild//Tribe/Spazm 151/Wiccans/Dead Line/Occult Detective Club (Rubber Gloves): The last time I spent an afternoon espousing the strong independent ethic and hard work ideals of Occult Detective Club, they canceled their appearance.  So I’m not going to say much this time, other than this is the tour kickoff for the tour that was previously mentioned.  I will add that when a song from their new record was selected as a free track on the widely popular and long-running tech and culture site Boing Boing, the group was unimpressed and simply re-posted the piece with a curt “WTF is Boing Boing?”  How punk is that?

Funk Robot with Big J/We Are Dark Clouds/Genova (Molly Maguire’s)

Testarossa (Ace Echols and Joshua Hauberg (Fallout Lounge): If it’s French and it’s Dance Music, it has a decent chance of being played by the Testarossa DJ Collective.  They play French Touch, House, and Electro.  Party music.  But then the invite says something about Onra, who specializes in Hip Hop and Breaks, which seems like a difficult transition, but I’m going to go ahead and trust them.  Besides, Onra’s great, particularly for Chinoiseries, where he successfully attempted the feat of distilling down a stack of his Vietnamese family’s old records to their most melodious conclusions.

Blackstone Rangers/Kiwi Sisters/True Achiever (Bryan Street Tavern): It’s never been easy to pin down what type of music Bryan Street showcases as a rule, but perhaps that’s by design.  This bill only further complicated things since I’ve mostly seen advertisements for some pretty standard masculine rock shows here or the occasional group taking a break from their regular gig at Barley House.  But it’s never been terrible.  This show is none of what I’ve just described and thankfully so.

This is a bill that includes some of the least offensive and more stylistically interesting groups from Dallas proper.  Blackstone Rangers is a mysterious duo that can sound so dramatically different depending on the vocalist that it seems like two completely different bands.  However, it’s for obvious reasons, as the group features both male (Derek Kutzer) and female (Ruth Smith) vocals, but Kutzer’s track on the band’s page reveals a more solemn singer-songwriter style, like some of Calvin Johnson’s less childish and more introspective moments.  Smith however, along with her late period Juno, sounds slightly more like the New Wave icons that the act cites as influences, and I look forward to seeing how all of this translates onstage.

I first became aware of the Kiwi Sisters when they opened for The Numerators, and from what I can tell the group has the charming distinction of coming off like non-British but still Euro 80′s bands that are often overlooked.  It’s okay if you don’t always achieve the same dark space occupied by New Order or The Smiths. Those slightly-off records by quirky foreign imitators are the stuff great lost reissues are made of.

Hack and Slashers/Beauxregard/DJ Geeky C (Pastime Tavern): Role-Playing Games, convoluted guitar riffs and complexly cascading keyboard runs are a perfect polygamous marriage of nerd culture, and The Hack And Slashers proudly reflect all of those things and more.  Throw in the fact that they perform ridiculous covers of tracks like “You’re the Best” from the Karate Kid soundtrack and cite schlock-Wizard Jim Steinman as an influence, and you have a complete picture of what we’ll polite refer to as “aggressively undateable goofery in the form of music.”  Save that for the one-sheet, fellas!  The group also claims to roll 12-sided die in order to “determine time signatures” and I have always been on the fence about their sincerity, but now I just hope they’re not joking.  But what else would you expect from outspoken prog advocate Alex Atchley?  Long suffering pop rock group Beauxregard also perform and they seem to never get enough credit despite being better than a lot of similar acts.  I can’t believe “DJ Geeky C” has a web-page.  Mom, are you still proud I write for D’s website?

SATURDAY

The Smoke with The Fuzz Club (Sons Of Hermann Hall)

Neuromance with DJ G/Brian Bishop (Pastime Tavern): It sounds terrible to call a dance night educational, and I’m sure party promoters would balk at seeing that written in laser-tinged font on the glossy fliers that line the parking lot of Mockingbird Station and Expo Park, but it would be a lie to suggest that’s not part of the program.  That is, if the DJ’s know what they’re doing.  If DJ G (AKA Jonathan Graham) is involved, this is usually the case, and I’m sure I seemed like a total creep when I reminded him that I had learned quite a bit about Italo from a 2004 Myspace blog when he first posted it.  This helpfully informative compilation of cut and pasted Italo articles, was sparingly notated and it’s sort of strange to go back and read now since it includes “internet radio” as a factor.  Though perhaps that never took off as it was supposed to, it’s safe to say the listening public knows much more about Italo Disco than it did eight years ago, as the genre has skyrocketed in popularity.  Graham acknowledges as much.

“I know the Italo thing has become out of control trendy in the last few years,” he said by email.  But along with fellow participant Brian Bishop, it’s Graham’s extensive knowledge of the music that hints at, branches off, influences or is influenced by Italo that makes this night stand apart.  “There are many peripheral musical areas in the realm of “cosmic” that should be included in such an endeavor for the town” he says.  In other words, the night won’t tackle Italo alone, but will contain an overarching conceptual theme .  It’s what Graham refers to as “retro futurism,” the optimistically forward thinking attitude embodied in the artwork and sound of  “vintage synth electronica that envisioned a future of flying cars, space travel…”  He continued,  ”Imagine 70′s pulp sci covers, Hajime Sorayama’s cyborgs, Sputnik, et al.”

But lest you think that the rather modest confines of the Pastime Tavern are going to physically transform in order to fulfill the futurist fantasy, Graham has a stern warning: “This visual component will (hopefully) only be present in our minds on Saturday.  I am NOT spray-painting Pastime Tavern silver, hanging foil UFOs from the ceiling or even encouraging people to dress like Barbarella or Flash Gordon or anything!”  He instead offers an ideal that is much more grounded.  “The mythical ethos of Detroit Techno’s icy futurism will definitely be in place, no doubt.”  Ah, there we go.  I’d say Pastime Tavern is much more like the real Motor City than flying cars and sexy robots, but therein lies its appeal.

Another detail that Graham made clear was that this isn’t strictly an Italo night, though he says both DJ’s will definitely “be pulling out the classics.”  As far as non-Italo Disco but still firmly in the realm of synth-heavy records, Graham adds that he is “looking forward to seasoning the voyage with classic space pioneers like Vangelis, Klaus Schultze and Jean Michel Jarre.”  Graham feels that perhaps such artists are underrepresented.  “These guys’ names are ubiquitous in the history of synth music but they don’t get played out in DJ sets.”  This may or may not be due to how danceable their music is and he adds “people just want to “chill out” to them at home with their headphones.  I am encouraging that type of “visual” listening Saturday.”  ”I don’t care if people dance or not.”

No matter which category you fall in, active participant or wall-carver, it’s good to see a dance night with such a heavy focus on this nearly perfect genre, rather than having it just sprinkled in as a highlight like so many other sets you hear around town; there’s nary a “bad” Italo record.  Local dance site Techno Sports will be recording the set, which should be available the next day.

Wanda Jackson/Lala Gray (Kessler Theater): This was mentioned in FrontRow’s “Five Essential Shows” for Spring, and you should hurry up and grab a ticket if you haven’t yet, since not only are they supposedly selling quickly, but Jackson sold out performances in New York and LA respectively.  You can do it, Dallas.  UPDATE: Show is sold out.

Electric Vengeance/Relvolucion Oi/Humble Deviants/Tatterd Flag (1919 Hemphill)

Eaton Lake Tonics/These Mad Dogs Of Glory/Warren Jackson Hearne (Hailey’s)

SUNDAY

Lost Generation with Wanz Dover/Jack O’Hara/Travis Box (Arcade Bar)

Capital Disco with Redsean/DJ TradeMarx (Elm Street Bar)

George Neal/Ryan Thomas Becker (Dan’s Silverleaf): Note: Show is at 5 pm.

Image from the cover of “Cybernetic Love” by Italo Disco icon Casco AKA Salvatore Cusato who passed away on January 30th.