Texarkana Entertainment Blog

It’s cold outside but there’s plenty of live music to warm up to this weekend and in the coming weeks. Here’s a taste of what’s ahead on the local live tune scene in Texarkana and nearby.

Fat Jack’s Oyster and Sports Bar hosts Southern Pride tonight, Tommy Rock’s band Saturday night and then Southeast Oklahoma’s very own Chalkline 259 next Thursday.

Hopkins Icehouse hosts Jonathan’s karaoke tonight, while Alex Addy and the Tambourine Machine’s fun Texas rock and reggae comes to town from Paris (Texas) for Saturday night’s show, followed by The Background Music (in town from Dallas) on Sunday night. John Calvin Brewer brings his blues back to town next Thursday.

Tonight you can catch acoustic musician Jaredd Reed at The Road Map. Sioux City Pete was scheduled to perform as the headliner but word is, according to a promotional page for the show, that his ride broke down. Reed is a an excellent singer-songwriter, however, and well worth seeing.

Lee’s Catfish has Jay Kirgis performing tonight. Kirgis plays some great blues.

Shooters Sports Bar bring Tragikly White back to the stage for tonight’s show, while The White Trash Wannabees return next Wednesday. (Looking down the road, Pat Green on Jan. 26 and Sunny Ledfurd on Jan. 20 are two big shows for the venue.)

Hippy’s Nightlife presents a New Year’s Revolution show Saturday night with metal act Cult of the Flag in from Memphis, Kulture Kill up from the Shreveport area with their rock and metal mix, and locals Setacide.

Jeremy Phifer will perform at the American Legion in New Boston this Saturday night, while down at Music City Texas Theater there’s some serious blues going on that night with Jonathon “Boogie” Long and Matthew Davidson.

You can catch live open mics at The Big Easy downtown on Sundays, while there’s a live house band on Saturday nights playing R&B “mature jams.” (Thursdays it’s reggae, jazz and poetry.)

Here are a couple more shows to consider in the upcoming weeks: psychedelic blues rock with Radio Moscow, as well as Dallas-based Mothership, locals Buffalo Child, and Southwest Arkansas’ Age of Man, all performing on Jan. 23 at Dave’s Skatepark (it’s an all-ages show); Glenn “SmittyG” Smith performs his Narada Weeps solo bass show at The Blues Iguana on Jan. 28, presenting his CD “A Clockwork Frozen in Time.”

Got some live music to recommend? Let us know!

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

I recently downloaded The Roots new album, “Undun,” and it is a total masterpiece. I think I made my “top five” albums of 2011 list too soon. Rhythmically captivating, tight, soulful and musically beautiful despite the bleak subject matter, this concept album, “Undun,” belongs at the very top of a list of the best albums of 2011. So, put it up there on my list.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

I just spoke with the folks at the Perot Theatre and they say just a hair under 100 tickets remain for the Willie Nelson concert on Sunday, Jan. 8. Willie, seen below in a submitted promo photo, is popular here in Texarkana and I’ve been told someone from as far away as New York is traveling to our Twin Cities to see the icon up on the venerable, historic Perot Theatre stage. Today’s Accent page included interviews with two locals who are excited to see him in concert. Here’s a link: Local fans can’t wait to see Willie. Seeing Willie Nelson at a theater like the Perot is a rare opportunity and I hope all who attend have a grand time.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

Awards season has landed. It’s one of my favorite times of the year, in addition to the winter holidays we have buzzing along, but this year when it comes to being a movie buff I feel woefully unprepared to consider the forerunners for film awards. I will need to get busy in the next couple months catching up (for a variety of reasons, I haven’t seen as many new movies this year). Golden Globe nominations were announced earlier this week and movies like “The Artist,” “The Help,” “The Descendants” and “The Ides of March” were among the top nominees. I’m not surprised to see those movies find the attention. But here’s one crime: “The Muppets” is not among the nominees for top comedy or musical. Sorry, but for a movie that received near universal acclaim, that is surprising, at the very least. I don’t care if it was, nominally, a kid’s movie. It deserves some consideration. Maybe the Oscars will right this wrong.

So, what movies do you think will win the Golden Globes or come up big at the Academy Awards? I have no sense of it yet and think it’s a real wide open year. I still think “Hugo,” “The Help” and “War Horse” may be the pick come Oscar time, but it still feels up in the air.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

I’m not always fond of making top five lists, but in the interest of talking about something I love—music—I don’t mind taking a stab at a rundown of the top five new albums I’ve listened to this year. My taste is, admittedly, probably pretty different for Texarkana and much of the reading audience I have at the Gazette, but I love to recommend some good tunes in the hopes someone will find them too. This year has been an excellent one, as far as I can tell, for new music.

My top three albums would likely be: Bon Iver’s “Bon Iver,” M83′s “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” and The Decemberists’ “The King is Dead.” Bon Iver’s album just landed the band well-deserved Grammy nominations. It’s a powerful, eclectic and intimate spin on folk rock music using the orchestrated meanderings of horns, piano, guitar and the falsetto of Mr. Bon Iver himself, Justin Vernon, to great and finely-crafted effect.  The surreal lyrics are a mystery but a welcome one, and the album has been on continuous rotation for my ears on many a morning drive. If forced to choose, I’d say it’s the top listen for the year.

Then there’s M83′s “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” an album my late cousin Ryan, who had such a keen and appreciative ear for great music, told me quite rightly would be “epic.” It’s full of dreamy synth-pop greatness and it’s a double album, to boot. It’s the kind of music I want to hear while gazing up at the stars.

There’s also “The King is Dead” from Portland, Ore., a gorgeous addition to indie folk, full of lyricism and wry humor. It felt like a great, full summertime album when I first bought it, but on cold mornings last week it was a wholly positive kick in the pants to enjoy the day.

To round out the top five, I’ll mention Radiohead’s “The King of Limbs” and Death Cab for Cutie’s “Codes and Keys.” Both albums felt like fresh directions for these respective bands—welcome adventures.

Current earworm: two SomaFM radio stations, Xmas in Frisko and Christmas Lounge. Right now I’m listening to Louis Prima “Shake Hands with Santa” and Julie London’s “I’d Like You for Christmas.”

What’s the best new music you heard this year?

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 3% [?]

I’m late getting to this because this week has been extra busy, but I think many moviegoers have already caught on to the excellence of the movie “The Muppets,” judging by the box office numbers and critics’ praises. I would like to chime in with my recommendation. If you haven’t seen it yet, go do so. It’s super amounts of fun. I saw it over the Thanksgiving weekend with my sister and we loved it. (Admittedly, we grew up with the Muppets. I think the Muppets wielded a pretty big influence on how I view the world.) “The Muppets” shines with a kind of self-deprecating, innocent and yet madcap sense humor you don’t see much of nowadays. It’s also a wildly funny and heartfelt addition to the Muppet legend, and the return of these characters felt true to their original spirit. So often reviving old characters like this to “update” them for a new generation feels inauthentic and opportunistic. Not so with “The Muppets.” It has both its heart and funnybone in the right places. Kudos to the team who brought the Muppets back for this film. I’d even say the movie has an outside shot at a Best Picture nomination come Oscar time.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

There’s a bunch of local live music to enjoy this weekend in addition to George Jones this Saturday night at the Perot Theatre.

Tonight at Hopkins Icehouse it’s a Synergistic unplugged show. Tomorrow, catch the acoustic vibes of Brandon Callies and Kaki Mendoza, two musicians out of Austin. I gave Mendoza’s music a listen on Reverb Nation and she has quite the gorgeous voice.

Chalkline 259 comes back to town tonight for another Fat Jack’s performance; it seems like they’re driving on down here from their Oklahoma home base quite often. And on Saturday night Driven, a popular local country band earning raves, will perform at Jack’s.

Recession Proof plays at the Wooden Indian down in Atlanta, Texas, for a Saturday night concert, while here in town that night at Timothy’s Grill it’s Split Decision performing. That same night Trepid will be rocking hard at Hippy’s Nightlife.

The Big Easy has added live music to its Saturday lineup with the house band playing rhythm and blues.

Tonight at 6 p.m., the talented youth of Kosmic Girlz & Koltrane perform at Central Mall for the hordes of shoppers. Also tonight, it’s dance and party band Tragikly White at Shooters Sports Bar.

In other news ….. Want to hear some fun and local original music? Give the band Buffalo Child a listen, particular the revved-up and rockin’ cut “Good Science.” They describe their music as “rock n’ soul,” and that seems apt to my ears.

It’s been too long since we’ve heard new material from Pilotdrift, the excellent indie music brainchild of local musician Kelly Carr. Thankfully, the band is back with new material, a new single on Good Records. Check out the tune and a video here: Pilotdrift Latest Release – All These Things at One Time.

Edited to add: Current earworms here? SomaFm Christmas music channel and the latest Bon Iver album, which is all kinds of awesome.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Perot Theatre is drawing some big names these days. Tomorrow, one of country music’s greats, George Jones, comes to town for a concert. We had a chance to catch up with him through an email interview, and he told us it’s the fans who keep him going. “My fans are what keep me working. I love to look out over an audience of young and not-so-young fans and see them singing along to every single song,” Jones, seen in a submitted promo photo below, told us. Just recently, another legend, this time in the realm of folk music, was announced as a soon-to-be-performer at the Perot. That’s Gordon Lightfoot, who will be there Jan. 26. Before that, it’s a true icon in Texas music, the great Willie Nelson at the Perot on Jan. 8. It’s heartening to see big acts coming to the Perot, a worthy venue, in addition to TRAHC’s great lineup for the Perot Theatre series.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 3% [?]

We’re marching toward the winter holiday season and there is plenty of live music in the Texarkana area to help you get out, get social and see people. Here’s a look at some of what’s ahead in the coming weeks.

Fat Jack’s welcomes two of the State Line Ave. bar’s regular acts back to the stage this weekend: L.A. Outlaw tonight and Michael DeArmond Band tomorrow night for a Saturday show, to be followed next weekend by 1 Nite Stand on Friday and Crooked Halo on Saturday. DeArmond returns for another show next Thursday, Nov. 10.

Hopkins Icehouse tonight has the popular Jeremy Phifer in for a show, followed by the reggae of Basic 5 for Saturday night. Then next week Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night it’s Nick Brumley, Eskimo Brothers (country and rockabilly from Nashville, Tenn.) and then Gentle Giants (a band from Clarksville, Texas), respectively each night, providing musical entertainment on the cozy Hopkins stage.

Saturday night at Hippy’s Nightlife it’s a three-pronged hard rockin’ show with local rockers Giganto and Sylo, plus TornApart from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Tonight it’s Cash Out Crew (performing their single “Cha Ching”).

At The Road Map on Saturday night it’s Tha Mutha Load paired with Up from Under. This Sunday’s live acoustic has “Possum.”

Shooters Sports Bar has a big show on Friday, Nov. 11, with Brantley Gilbert back in town for another show. He’s popular here; that show is already sold out. This Saturday night sees Boom Kinetic come to Shooters. They’re a party/dance band from the Fayetteville area.

Tonight at Lee’s Catfish and Steakhouse it’s the Acoustic Merlins (Tommy Roeck and Bobby Rogers) performing. MoBetta Band plays a show at the Wagon Wheel on Saturday night.

For blues, the big upcoming event is Friday, Nov. 11, when B.B. King’s daughter Shirley King plays a benefit concert for a fledgling veterans support organization. She performs at Northridge Country Club.

As well, Paul Capps Jr. will perform his blues, country and classic rock at The Blues Iguana on Saturday, Nov. 12.

It’s not live music but local music and party venue Club Primetime will host comedian Joe Torry and Co. on Saturday, Nov. 26. Torry is known for his appearances in “Def Comedy Jam” and various TV and film roles.

Edited to add: Oops, almost forgot … check out the White Trash Wannabees and JB and the Moonshine Band this Saturday night at the Wooden Indian down the road in Atlanta, Texas.

And tickets are still available for George Jones, who is coming to the Perot Theatre for a concert on Nov. 26. He comes to Texarkana as part of the country music legend’s 80th birthday tour. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. that night. Tickets available at TRAHC.org.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 2% [?]

Over the weekend I got a chance to see “The Rum Diary,” an adaptation of the late Hunter S. Thompson’s book that finally made it to the big screen and, surprisingly to me, a Texarkana movie theater. I suppose star power has something to do with it landing here for what I anticipate may be a brief stay.

I enjoyed the film a whole lot despite many flaws, mostly for personal reasons. For a newspaper diehard like me, it offers an appealingly farcical, nearly satirical look at newspaper life, complete with maniacal editors, oddball reporters slinking through the newsroom like slugs on acid and the sort of financing dilemmas that plague small-time news. As such, those jokes hit home for me. As well, I enjoyed Johnny Depp, who here plays a Thompson alter ego, Paul Kemp, as a reporter who exhibits a talent for both crafting phrases and cleaning out the “complimentary” alcohol at his Puerto Rican hotel room.

Kemp joins the San Juan Star and soon finds himself embroiled with a variety of strange, repulsive and yet somehow beguiling characters in and around this tropical newspaper milieu, including scuzzy developers with venomous smiles who want to build more hotels on an island paradise. They’re the bad guys, the “bastards,” as Kemp puts it, and feel like classic Thompson villains. Kemp’s interplay with these characters is the best part of the film, but that can only carry the plot so far.

Along the way, we’re treated to all sorts of half-baked narrative turns, poorly developed characters and themes that don’t lead very far in this rum-soaked flick. I found myself rooting for Kemp but he doesn’t seem to have anywhere to turn in this movie. A quick scan of movie fan board sites shows what I suspected would be true: a trashing of the film by many fans who love the novel and adore Thompson. Though I haven’t read “The Rum Diary,” it seems the movie strays in many respects from the novel itself.

Ultimately and regardless of its faith to the source material and inspiration, the movie isn’t deep enough to carry much weight, and its boozy barbs aren’t as sharp as Thompson’s own writing. “The Rum Diary” never quite decides just what movie it wants to be. That said, it’s enjoyable enough on its own terms, and there are certainly worse ways to spend $5 at the movie theater, given what Hollywood churns out lately.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]