Layer Cake Somberly Triumphant in Possible Final Performance

My review of Layer Cake’s farewell show at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios is up now via D FrontRow, the official arts and culture blog of major Dallas-Fort Worth monthly D Magazine. Here I wax nostalgic about my time in Denton, Texas, and mourn the loss of one of the most exciting pop acts to emerge from the area in years.

I want to tell you that Layer Cake’s farewell show at Rubber Gloves on Saturday night was not a somber event, but I can’t. Endings, especially untimely ones, are rarely happy occasions, but I was somehow hoping to leave the show with a feeling of optimism—and, who knows, maybe I can generate that by the end of this piece—but I’m not going to lie: Saturday night was a stone cold bummer.

[Read the full review at D FrontRow.]

Deafheaven Draw Pop Music Outsiders to Metal; But Will the Showmanship Drive them Away?

My review of the Deafheaven show at Club Dada is up now via D FrontRow, the official arts and culture blog of major Dallas-Fort Worth monthly, D Magazine. Here I write about the unique challenges of  heavy metal, and have my patience tested by a preening front man: 

With every lull in the set’s breakneck pace, he would beckon the back of the crowd forward with two fingers and his nose upturned in affectation. It was a cringeworthy move typical of his off-putting persona, and—despite the band’s elegant delivery and technical prowess—I couldn’t help but feel complicit in what I felt was the collective response from the over-21 crowd not already pressed against the stage: “We’re fine here, thanks.”

[ Read the full review at D FrontRow. ]