Central Track ContributorHow Thursdays Became The Busiest Music Night of the Week.
It's official. Thursdays are the new Fridays — and not just because some binge-drinking SMU sorority girls we know sometimes say so to excuse their problems.
It's been this way for over a year now, too. It was this time last year when Rio Room opened up its doors and started hosting some of the biggest underground electronic DJs and producers in its cozy Travis Street spot in Uptown. Same goes for DJ Sober and his always-packed Big Bang! event at Beauty Bar in Dallas. Meanwhile, right around the same time, Josh Hammertimez and Oliver Peck moved out of Billiard Bar and down to its more comfortable Double Wide locale in Deep Ellum.
That's three of the biggest weeklies in town, all happening each week on the same night. What's most remarkable, though, is that they don't really seem to be in competition with one another. Each event has its own built-in audience. And each Thursday night, week after week, each event is well-attended.
Oh, and they're all free to attend and open to the public, which, given their popularity, just seems bizarre.
Alas, it's just the new Dallas normal.
At Rio Room, crowds dress to the nines to dance to futuristic sounds from the likes of Diplo, Switch and Treasure Fingers within the room's high-end confines. At Beauty Bar, Sober keeps things “trill,” dabbling in some indie and dance music but mostly keeping his crowds happy and, more often than not, grinding away on the dancefloor to classic hip-hop tracks among the Henderson hotspot's kitschy decor. And, over at the Double Wide, Hammertimez and Peck, surrounded by a different type of kitsch, keep their audiences entertained with running bits, weekly costume contests and by refusing to let would-be karaoke singers perform any Alanis Morrissette, 4 Non Blondes or Michael Jackson tracks.
Any one of these events, given their draw, could probably succeed on any given night of the week. The fact that they've all decided to stick to Thursdays, however, is fairly interesting — especially in light of the fact that Thursdays tend to be a big night of the week for touring acts coming through town, too.
Take tonight, for instance: In addition to one another, each of these events will also be competing with VNV Nation at Trees, Scrote at Dada and legendary turntablist Shortkut at the Boiler Room in Deep Ellum. Last week, they went up against The Polyphonic Spree, Boombox and John Legiuizamo. And none suffered.
Point is, it's time we all just got used to it. Thanks to these weeklies and the touring options that join them week in and week out, Thursdays are now the busiest night in town every week. Deal with it. Get used to it. Embrace it. And maybe tell your employers to expect you to be a little groggy each Friday morning — if they aren't themselves.
Tonight, Classix performs at Rio Room, Beauty Bar will celebrate local hip-hop producer Picnictyme's birthday at Big Bang! and, in a belated Presidents Day celebration, Good Luck Karaoke will be Secret Service-themed.
