Japandroids / Bass Drum of Death @ Bryan Street Tavern, Dallas, TX

I had been debating whether or not to include this show on the site, but ultimately, it was too good to leave off. I mean, when I heard Japandroids were coming through Dallas and at such an intimate venue, I gobbled up a ticket the same day.  For those of you who weren't following me at the time, I first saw Japandroids perform at New York City's fantastic venue, Piano's, in 2009 and included that performance in my top ten best of that year.  The amount of energy these two put into that show was unreal and the amount of sound they created was amazing.  I mean, had it not been for a Beatle named Paul McCartney and a little UK band named Muse, I would have put these guys at the top of the list.  It was just that good.

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Deadmau5 @ Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, TX

You just know when you're trying to get to a show but Mother Nature just isn't cooperating, that in the end, that show is gonna be awesome.  On Sunday evening, after months of drought and infrequent drizzles, downpours of rain and gusts of wind prevented me from walking the three blocks to Palladium Ballroom for nearly half an hour.  At the promised land was one Joel Zimmerman, who the civilized world knows as the electronic artist Deadmau5.  While I was in New York, Deadmau5 exploded onto the electronic scene and was selling out venues left and right.  And as luck would have it, I was given a golden ticket to cover one of his sold out shows at Terminal 5.  And as life taketh away, I had to go to Washington DC for Thanksgiving and would miss his run of shows entirely.  So finally seeing Deadmau5 was not just a half-hours walk to Palladium, it was two years in the making.

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TV on the Radio / Broken Social Scene @ House of Blues, Dallas, TX

It was fairly noticeable by those who frequent concerts in Dallas that this past week was definitely rare and definitely welcomed.  The annual Austin City Limits Festival was to occur over three days starting on Friday and numerous shows sprouted up in Dallas the days before.  These 'spillover' shows featured some heavy-hitters and great lineups, such was the case at Friday night's TV on the Radio and Broken Social Scene gig over at the House of Blues.  Alone, TV on the Radio are a worthy pick for any night of the week but adding indie greats Broken Social Scene as an opener...are you serious?  This show was too good to be true and I was more than obliged to take my eyes and ears to this one.

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Big Muddy Blues Festival @ Laclede’s Landing, St.Louis, MO

Pictures and words by Duane Clawson

Two hidden gems native to St. Louis: blues music and Laclede’s Landing. First, a brief history lesson on blues music. Blues music, as many know, was born out of the Mississippi Delta and progressed north to Chicago. Around the 1950’s, blues became electrified. The St. Louis area became a hotbed for this style of blues. Laclede’s Landing was once a trading epicenter for St. Louis due to its close proximity to the Mississippi River. Today Laclede’s Landing is an epicenter for nightlife in St. Louis. The Landing is home to many St. Louis bars, restaurants, and the Big Muddy Blues Festival (TBMBF). This year was the 16^th installment of TBMBF, featuring 30 bands over two days. TBMBF was the exclamation point at the end of St. Louis Bluesweek. A little extra celebration was in order as St. Louis was recently named the recipient of The National Blues Museum and Hall of Fame.

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LouFest Day Two @ Forest Park, St. Louis, MO

Pictures and words by Duane Clawson

After a complete overload of my senses from Day One of Loufest, I had a great night’s sleep and was prepared to tackle Day Two.  I had noticed there were mass amounts of live interactions in the press room via Twitter, Facebook, and live photo postings.  I said this would be a great day to bring my laptop and try some of my own live postings for MTC.

Day Two started with a set from Old Lights.  Old Lights hail from St.louis and were a safe way to open this second day of music.  Nothing too hard or too soft from this band, just fun rock music.  Jumbling Towers, another St. Louis product, began to warm up the Orange Stage.  JT produces music that sounds like it's up to something sneaky.  The best analogy I could give of Josiah DeBoer's vocals would be to imagine a court jester attempting to sing.  Somehow JT makes it all work as one cohesive unit.  Ume, who the hell is Ume? Relatively obscure front woman Lauren Larson and her band were about to introduce themselves to St. Louis.  In Egyptian times, if you were convicted of a crime, as punishment, you could put in a sack with a monkey and a snake and tossed in the water.  Now with this in mind, imagine the ruckus that would make.  This, my friends, is what Ume brought to Loufest. 

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LouFest Day One @ Forest Park, St. Louis, MO

Pictures and words by Duane Clawson

I would like to tell you as I begin this article that I had some sort of agenda in mind before covering this event but I didn’t.  Why, you ask?  I’ve never been to a music festival and had no idea how it was all going to unfold.  So being the flexible guy I am, I packed my camera and gear and bound off to Forest Park to cover Loufest.  I arrived a tad early as the good Loufest coordinators were still sorting out some things and assigning the volunteers their duties.  I waited patiently in front of the press table awaiting my pass and in a moment’s notice, the girls working the press pass table were given the word and with pass in hand, I was in.

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Identity Festival @ Gexa Engery Pavilion, Dallas, TX

What a day?  Oh what a day!!  In my years as a concert goer, and in my years reviewing shows, I had yet been to an electronic music festival.  That was all undone at Gexa Energy Pavilion when the touring Identity (ID) Festival came rolling into Dallas.  With big name acts such as Rusko, the Crystal Method, DJ Shadow, Pretty Lights, Steve Aoki, and a handful of others, the word was definitely out in a city that attracts many large-scale electronic festivals and shows.  In the sweltering heat, thousands of patrons descended upon Fair Park's amphitheater for a day's worth of techno, electro, dubstep, house, funk, you name it.

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