#kxt 91.7

[musichead84]

Mondays at KXT, we feature our favorite new tunes. This week, we've got incredible new music from Fantastic Negrito, Frank Turner, Lianne La Havas and more!

[themusicenthusiast]

Thursday, February 16, 2012 – Triple Play

Tonight marked the second concert of the monthly Triple Play Music Series, which is presented by KXT 91.7 and the Dallas Observer, and so far has taking place only at the historic Dallas venue, the Kessler Theater. The lineup for this show was excellent, and I was looking forward to going, as was my mom, who is a fan of The Whiskey Folk Ramblers. Then, in the late afternoon, things only got better, when the opening act, Jessie Frye, made a post that there were three tickets available for free, and I managed to get lucky enough to get them, so, many thanks to Steve Pickett for the tickets. I didn’t find out the story that he had some friends bail out at the last minute however until I was talking to Jessie after the show, so, Steve, if you’re reading this, I think I owe you a beer or two if we ever cross paths again, sir. Anyways, getting to the show… The first act up was Jessie Frye, who was representing Denton for this show bill. I first heard of her about a year and a half ago, when the Observer Music Awards were taking place, and she was one of several artists who had music featured on a sampler that the Observer gave away. I quickly became a fan after hearing the song of hers, bought her old EP and then the new one, once it was released, but had never been able to make it to a show… At least not until this one came about. At 7:57 the lights dimmed as her band, comprised of guitarist, Michael Garcia, Matt Olmstead on drums, and bassist, Paulo Castillo, strode on stage, and Jessie Frye soon followed. Michael began their 40 minute set with a few notes before Matt crashed down on his drums as they started “Fortune Teller”. Once they had finished it, Jessie took a seat behind the keyboard that sat on stage as they slowed things down a little and she started the beautiful piano intro for “Red Angel, White Devil”. “We’re going to slow things down a little.” she said to everyone when the song was through. Then clarified, “More than it already is.” The stage lights mainly illuminated Jessie for “Sleeping Tornadoes”, as the song was predominantly performed as a solo, and her band mates took a backseat during it. Out of the five songs from her “Fireworks Child” EP, that one would be my favorite, and as amazing as the recording sounds, it was near breathtaking live, and I didn’t see how any other song they would do could top it. She left the piano afterwards, and set up their next song. “…It’s not on any record, so that makes it special.” she said, speaking of the song which I believe she said was called “Suit Yourself”. The song was a complete departure from the past two, and was more along the lines of their other material, with it being more a mix of rock and pop, and I soon found myself thinking this one may possible be their best song of the show. Honestly, I still can’t decide, and think it may be a tossup between it and the previous one. It was hard to tell when it ended though, as it sounded more like they were taking a brief pause before they would tear back into it, but everyone soon realized it was done and started applauding. “No one ever knows when that song is done…” Jessie remarked, then asked Matt what that was called. “A half cadence.” he replied. “A half cadence, I should know that.” Jessie said, almost more to herself. They kept the fun vibe going with “Like a Light”, as Jessie first mentioned the music video they had recently done for the song, encouraging anyone who hadn’t seen it to go watch it (you can find it HERE). Then, she returned to the keys for a couple more songs, saying that the first of which she had debated on if they would do it or not. “…It’s a brand new song, like, only about a week old.” she stated. “…I told the guys I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it or not, and they were like, “Bitch, we’re doing it!” Paulo chimed in at that moment, and while I couldn’t hear him too well, it sounded like he reiterated the, “Bitch, we’re doing it!”. “See, this is the kind of shit I have to put up with.” Jessie said, as she went on to say that since this was the first time it had ever been played live, they might screw it up. “…But we’ll be fucking it up for you. It’s not like we’ve never fucked anything else up on stage before.” she finished as they began the song. I really enjoyed it and the next one, both of which seemed to spotlight Michael’s guitar skills, as he had the occasional solo, and just shredded when he had the chance. They had time for one more song, and only one song had yet to be played from “Fireworks Child”, so “Prepared” brought things to a close. I was totally blown away, and I think it’s safe to say Jessie Frye and her band were the best act for this edition of Triple Play. Her voice is phenomenal, and I found both the control she has of her voice and her vocal range to be utterly amazing. It’s just one of those voices that, no matter what, cannot be captured in a studio and can only be fully appreciated live when it’s in its rawest form. She also has an undeniable stage presence, that is also a little on the sultry side. She’s just an astounding musician, and I’m kicking myself now for not seeing a show sooner. Speaking of shows, you can see them do a hometown show in Denton on March 9th as part of the 35 Denton Music Festival (venue TBA). They will be down in Austin for SXSW, performing at Ten Oak on March 17th. Towards the end of March Jessie will embark on a short solo tour, beginning on March 29th at Take Five in Kansas City, Kansas. On March 30th and 31st  she has shows in Chicago, Illinois, the one on the 30th will be at Café Ballou, while the other will take place at Nothing Less Café. Then in April they will have a couple shows back in Dallas. The first will on the 7th as part of the Deep Ellum Arts Festival, and on the 26th you can see them at Good Records. Also, be sure to head over to her Bandcamp page where you can purchase 2008’s “The Delve” and last years, “Fireworks Child”.

Second up, and representing Dallas, was Salim Nourallah. I’ve heard a lot about him over the past few years, in both his producing career as well as ability as a musician, but even with all the praise I’ve heard, I’ve never taken time to listen to his music. I didn’t know what to expect either, if it would just be him solo, or perhaps if he had a band… It turned out to be the latter, as Emsy Robinson (who I got to know for his couple year stint with Paco Estrada & One Love) played bass, while Paul Slavens played keys, and another musician rounded out the group as the lead guitarist. The one thing about hearing so much praise over a band however, is that you can create incredibly high expectations of what they will sounds like, and they don’t always live up to that. Their music wasn’t what I had in mind, as it sounded reminiscent of older rock, say from the 50’s or 60’s, while the keys added a nice element to it all. Even one of the mics that Salim used distorted his voice a bit, giving it somewhat of a grainy sound, almost like you were listening to it on an old turntable. But I digress, the main thing that under whelmed me was Salim’s voice. It was good, and use the word “good” loosely in this instance, but I was expecting to be blown away by it. That’s not to say it was bad, as I did enjoy it, but it lacked that sensational quality that other vocalists have. Their opening song didn’t do much for me, and for the next one Salim apparently rearranged the set list. “Are you changing the set list on us?” Paul asked him, as Salim announced the next song was “Western Hills”. I still wasn’t all that into the music, but as they progressed I did get more into it, and  really became a fan of the sound they have crafted together. The final song of their set was “The World is Full of People Who Want to Hurt You”, which Salim said he was really paranoid about mean people, and tried to stay away from them before they began the song. Then, once it was finished, they brought the show to an abrupt end. As I said, they were alright, and if they happen to be on another show bill with a band I like, I’ll definitely watch them, but I don’t see myself becoming a true fan of Mr. Nourallah. However, he does a several CDs available, all of which can be purchased on iTunes and he also said that he hoped to record an album sometime this year with this full band. Also, if you would like to see him live, he has quite a few shows coming up. On March 17th he will be at the Bryan Street Tavern in Dallas, and the next Saturday, March 24th, will find him at the Granada Theater in Dallas. Then on March 31st he will be in Fort Worth at Lola’s, and if you want to see a free show, he will be performing at Good Records in Dallas on April 22nd.

The eclectic Fort Worth group, the Whiskey Folk Ramblers, headlined the show and kicked their set off at 9:53 with the opening track from their “And There are Devils…” record, “The Penitent”. They wound it straight into the next song, one of their newer ones I believe, as Richard Davenport traded his accordion in for his banjo, before switching right back to the accordion for the following song, “Horrors in the Kitchen”. They then did a little selection of songs from the “Midnight Drifter” album, as drummer, Trey Ownby led them into “Goin' Where I Don't Know”. For most of their 49 minute set they raced from one song to the next, but even more so at this point since these few songs are all two minutes or less in length, as they next did the undeniably catchy, “River Song”, and as the band finished up the song, Richard put on some finger picks. “This one is a sing along.” said lead singer and acoustic guitarist, Tyler Rougeux, as Richard started the banjo intro to “Moanin' Rag”. “Into That Slide” came next in the set list, followed by one of the bands staples, “Pies of Old Kylene”. As wonderful as the song is, I still find its outro to be one of the best things about it, as they first do about twenty seconds of music that features more of the rhythm section as Trey adds some great beats, while Jack Russell slaps the strings of his stand up bass. Then it completely switches gears as the trumpet playing of Cory Graves is the most prominent instrument, as they play out a piece that sounds like it belonged in a silent film from sometime in the early 1900’s. I assume the next song was another newer tune, as Richard went back to the accordion for it and a few others. Afterwards, Tyler began to sing “Easy Climb”, and then they told the epic tale of “Gambling Preacher and His Daughter” (watch the music video for the song HERE). They did a couple more new songs, the first of which Tyler said was “unreleased at the moment”, but mentioned they had recently recorded it with Salim Nourallah, so I expect it won’t be unreleased for too much longer. “Does anyone here like The Zombies?” Tyler asked, before saying the next song was cover of a song by said band. They next did “Graveyard Line”, as Cory shook a tambourine for the song, while Richard added a harmonica into the mix. If memory serves me right, it was also during that one that lead guitarist, Mark Moncrieff, tore off on a sweet solo in the middle of the tune. Tyler announced they had just a couple songs left, as they first did the slower, “Sweet Waters”, and then ended their 49 minute set with a faster paced one, “Curtains”, both of which Richard used the accordion on. It was great, and they were a wonderful way to end the show. I do think it would have been nice if they had gotten a little more time, but it was still very enjoyable, and I liked that the set was different from the one they used last month when I saw them, as it gave it a fresh feeling to me. I swear, I become more of a fan each time I see them, and if you’re going to be in or around Fort Worth on April 13th, then you should check them out at the West Berry Block Party Music and Arts Festival. Also, if you don’t already have their “And There are Devils…” record, you can get it for FREE on Noisetrade.com, and also look up “Midnight Drifter” in iTunes. As for the Triple Play Music series, I like what the Observer and KXT are doing, and they have gotten some great bands lined up on it. Tonight’s show was definitely memorable, and I would have loved to have been at the one last month, but it had the misfortune of taking place the same night as The FEDS reunion show. As for next month, they have People On Vacation set to headline, while Little Black Dress and Andrew Tinker open. So, mark your calendars for March 22nd, and buy you tickets HERE.

______________________________________________________________

NOTE: If any bands want me to A.) write a review of their album or B.) wish me to play their music on my podcast, than email me. Also, I have partnered with Sawed Off Productions & WhiskeyBoy Radio, both of whom will help me present The Music Enthusiast showcases.If your band would be interested in performing at a future showcase, email me for consideration: [email protected]

______________________________________________________________

A note to whom it may interest: I’m wanting to get advertisers on my blog. If you are a band, music venue, or have any type of product or business whatsoever you want to promote, e-mail me at: [email protected] for full info. I will tell you now though, I get good traffic on my site and my prices will be VERY, VERY affordable to even the most broke bands/people. So please, allow me to help promote YOUR product constantly, and not just when I do a show review. Venues, I can list all your upcoming shows as I do for the Granada Theater. Bands, I can put up an image of your album cover and link that to iTunes, etc. Let me know if you would be interested in getting in on this exciting opportunity!