Pete Freedman
Squeeze A Little Jam Into Your Halloween Celebrations.
Shitty news, my fellow Sriracha lovers: The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a group of 30 citizens filed a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday claiming that the fumes emanating from the “rooster sauce” production factory owned by Huy Fong Foods and operating in their hometown of Irwingdale, California, is the what's causing the “burning eyes, irritated throats and headaches” that residents living near the factor are suffering through on a daily basis. Tomorrow, a judge will rule on the matter, determining whether the factory has to cease production while the matter is settled.
Could this spell the end of Sriracha production in the States? Might it be a hint that, possibly, Sriracha isn't a very healthy thing for us to be eating in the first place? Will we now be forced to answer the question of whether a life without Sriracha is a life worth living it all?
Tough to say. But it does make us realize at least one thing: It's important to live in the now, for you never know when the rug will be ripped out from under you.
With that in mind, here's what's going on around town tonight. Might as well live it up while you can, y'know?
Colleen Green, White Fang, The Memories, Sealion at The Chat Room
Green is a fairly strong songwriter in the vein of Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino: That same slacker vibe upon which Best Coast has built its reputation is fully present in Green's songs; so too is the overall beachy vibe through which it's all filtered. And, clearly, Green has a knack for melody: Sock It To Me's songs stick. One listen and you're humming her hooks for days. Green's Burgers Records labelmates White Fang and The Memories, plus the Dallas punks in Sealion, make this bill a formidable mid-week offering. — Pete Freedman
He's My Brother, She's My Sister at Dada
Like Tilly and the Wall before them, L.A.'s He's My Brother She's My Sister uses the old tap-dancer-as-drummer bit. But, in this group's case, the idea is improved upon by having a bandmate dance on a bass drum while hitting some cymbals with her free hands. The whole thing gives the group's setup a fun, visual vibe to match its enjoyable throwback-style folk tunes. — Cory Graves
Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory at House of Blues
Pop-punk is angsty, fast and rich in wordplay. And, eight albums into its career, Alkaline Trio's pistons are still firing well on each of the aforementioned cylinders. Sure, the group may not be as young and angry as it once was. But old and cynical can be a decent look in the right lighting, too. And, this time through, the band is touring with the so-called “godfathers of pop-punk” in New Found Glory, making this bill just that much more difficult to ignore. — H. Drew Blackburn
Craft Night at the AlllGood Cafe
Just because you're all growns up and you're all growns up and you're all growns up doesn't mean you always have to act like a grown-up — or that you can't enjoy a little bit of seemingly youth-centric activity time now and then, either. Or so goes the idea behind the AllGood Cafe's new, weekly Craft Night, wherein AllGood server Lauren Gray — who, in her spare time, also helps run the Texas Theatre's art gallery space The Safe Room — takes control of the restaurant floor and leads patrons in a crafting project centering around a certain theme. Par for the season, this week's efforts revolve around Halloween, and Gray will help attendees along with a pumpkin and gourd decoration session. No worries if you're gourd-less: AllGood's providing the vegetables for your decorating pleasure. — PF
Trillwave Halloween at the Boiler Room
This weekly has brought quite a steady stream of quality DJ acts to Deep Ellum since relocating there following Zubar's closing, but perhaps the thing that sets Trillwave apart from all of the other similarly high-quality weekly dance parties in town is the bang-for-the-buck factor. Not many places in town can compete with the world famous DJs Trillwave residents Trailer Swift, and Dubble A bring to town on a weekly basis. But they still throw in $2 well drinks anyway. Because they care. Tonight's affair is doubly special, too, thanks to the addition of Picnictyme and DJ Sober's Botty Fade entity to the bill. Keep in mind, too, that this one's free to attend — if you show up in a costume. Otherwise, it's $5. — CG
The Jam Session at the Prophet Bar
For years now, we've been extolling the virtues of the Prophet Bar's regular Wednesday night bashes, in which various members of the Dallas hip-hop, jazz, funk and gospel communities — many of them Grammy winners affiliated with area luminaries Erykah Badu and Kirk Franklin — gather for a live on-stage jam session that, somehow, manages to blow minds week after week, despite the formula never really changing. There really is no doubt about it (and, if you've been, then we're sure you'll agree): Apologies to the many other great weeklies in the region, but the Wednesday Night Jam is the best weekly in town. To be honest, it's not even that close of a competition. It's a spectacle you really do need to see for yourself. And Halloween, perhaps, is the time to check it out, meanwhile: Last year around this time, an Undead Erykah Badu showed up and performed at the jam, unannounced. We're not guaranteeing that happens this year, too. But we're not not guaranteeing it, either. — PF
Cover photo by Heather Abbott.
