Dallas Observer Review

Here's a link to a review I wrote for the Dallas Observer.

For me it's kind of like the first time Radiant played at Trees. I wanted to play there since I was fifteen, and when it finally happened, I was ecstatic. Hopefully there will be more to come.

Daniel

The Plan

Recently, I've decided that I'm going to take my writing to the next level. I'm not sure exactly what that entails, but my short term goal is to get one article published per week. My long term goal is to transition from my job at Starbucks (which has been a terrific place to work) to a serious writing job by 2010.

I'm not sure how this is going to happen. In the meantime I'm hoping you'll see more articles by me in various newspapers and magazines around here. I love you. I'm tired. Goodnight/morning.

Air Review- Concert Review

Air Review might be the best band in town, but there’s a reason you haven’t heard of them. They’ve only played one show. 

Last Friday night, Air Review took their place in a short line of Britpop-inspired Dallas bands as they played in front of a full room at the Curtain Club. I had forgotten that the balconies were lined with Cabe Booth’s brilliant paintings of Dallas’ top bands over the past few decades, which created the perfect atmosphere for Air Review’s first concert. This showcase was an opportunity to prove that they are already just as good as any band up on that wall, and that’s exactly what they did.

As the first few notes were played, it was obvious, these guys aren’t joking around. Each member of the band is a seasoned player, every note was deliberate, and everything down to the lights went according to plan. The arrangements resembled Radiohead’s darker side, while lead singer Doug Hale summoned the energy and drama of Muse’s Matthew Bellamy. This is the first time I have ever seen a band’s first show when every part was so calculated but they still maintained a sense of spontaneity and energy.

There were a few lulls, however. More than once the chatter from the audience was loud enough to match the band during mellow moments like on the intro to “All Because.” But the band always managed to fight back with huge hooks and choruses, often with all five guys shouting their guts out into the microphones, like on “Chasing Corperate,” which is an obvious choice for the first single.

With their next show on June 5 at the House of Blues, and an album release set for sometime this summer, Air Review is already generating a lot of buzz around here.