It goes without saying that MeVs are loyal drinkers of whatever brand of Kool-Aid Chromeo sells. Fortunately for us, their juice flows in the form of hip-thrust inducing harmony and unadulterated love. So naturally, when we heard the duo would be in Austin, we showed up. In Dallas, we showed up. And we danced.

There seems to be an agreed notion that a dichotomy exists between Dallas and other concert attendees. Apparently, Dallas doesn’t dance. Or as The Rapture aptly puts it, “People don’t dance no more, they just stand there like this, they cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and diss.”

MeVs would put an end to this canard.

Chromeo made it extremely easy. The crowd pushed towards the stage in anticipation, beer spilled on the ground, sweaty bodies collided, and everyone chanted repeatedly and in unison, “Chromeooo ohhh ohhh!” A sharp-looking Dave 1 and P-Thugg made their entrance on stage and rocked our socks and panties off. “Fancy Footwork” infectiously had the crowd moving their feet in tandem. “100%” probably made a few women (and men) lose their clothes. “Night by Night” from their upcoming album, Business Casual, had us wishing we were getting some one-on-one dance lessons with Dave. Some guys even brought glow sticks and danced their hearts out in the back.

There is no mistake the pair has been friends for ages. The chemistry in their performance and stage presence made us feel all the closer to them. Dave 1′s voice was as sexy as P-Thugg’s talkbox mastery.

So there you have it, needy girls and bonafied lovers, Dallas knows how to have fun. But it’s Chromeo. They could probably make your grandma bust a move.

If Dallas can boast about anything, it’d definitely have to be fine dining. And a three-course prix fixe meal with a $35 price-tag is tempting indeed. MeVersus is looking forward to some calamari from Dakota’s, pasta from Mi Piaci, lobster bisque from Pappa’s Bros, and salmon from Abacus. Will these items be on the Restaurant Week menu? Who knows! But we’re certainly getting hungry.

OpenTable has a list of the participating restaurants.

We’ll see you fine diners out there come the 16th!

Mother nature may be toying with Dallas this week. The one holiday of the year when clear skies are most crucial may bring sparks of a different nature. But cross your fingers and try to catch one of the following exciting festivities:

• Fourth of July Picnic in the Garden at the Dallas Arboretum – Sunday, July 4th 12-4pm
• Patriotic Pops with the Plano Symphony Orchestra at the Eisemann Center – Sunday, July 4th, 3-5pm
• Red, White & Boom in McKinney (parade, entertainment, and fireworks) – Sunday, July 4th  1- 10:30pm
• Fourth of July Jubilation in Denton (gutter boats, horseshoes, hotdog eating,  swimming, and fireworks)
• Family Fourth Celebration in Richardson – Sunday, July 4th 6-10:15pm
• Plano Independence Day Parade – Saturday, July 3rd
• Frisco Freedom Fest (party, music, food, and fireworks) – Saturday, July 3rd
• Kaboom Town in Addison (music, food, and fireworks) – Saturday, July 3rd 5pm-midnight
• Festive Fourth in Farmer’s Branch (Emerald City concert, concession stands, and fireworks)- Saturday, July 3rd 6:30pm-end fireworks
• Star Spangled Spectacular at Firewheel Town Center in Garland (jazz and fireworks) – Saturday, July 3rd, 4-9pm (and stop by Cha & Tea for some delicious!)
• Fair Park July 5th – better late than never (Dallas Wind Symphony, concession, and fireworks) – Monday, July 5th 6-10pm

MeVs wishes everyone an eventful Fourth (third and fifth)!

Sunbear of WeWoreMasks recaps the local extravaganza this hot, humid, music filled weekend. Thanks, Sunbear!

photo credit: greeneyeri

The second annual Free Press Summerfest music festival descended upon Eleanor Tinsley Park this past weekend, at nearly double the size of the inaugural run last year, proving that yes, Houston is a city that cares about and loves its music. Our neighbors, Austin boasts the smug motto of being the “Live Music Capital of the World” and though that isn’t without merit, Houston has simply had it with being overlooked, not only as a tour stop for major acts, but for its diverse local talent. Summerfest is the marriage of those very ideas: that our local bands can play alongside the best of the best, with acts ranging from our own darling Wild Moccasins, to the extravagant Flaming Lips whose presence hasn’t been felt by Houston in 10 years. The musical diversity was palpable: everything from the southern twang of Tennessee’s Lucero, to the eloquent indie pop of Canada’s Stars, to southern rappers Slim Thug and Bun B representing Houston’s burgeoning rap scene. And the bears were there to witness its greatness.

photo credit: arielle gutierrez

Settling onto level ground, which was in scarce supply on the angular hillside of Allen Parkway, we were greeted to the Wild Moccasins, fresh from a national tour and back home where they belong. They were their usual selves, which is to say fetchingly exuberant as they played tracks from their newly released Skin Collision Past. Elsewhere, The Eastern Sea were indulging a small but devoted crowd to their baroque-rock sound. Their set at Cactus Records the day before found a truncated version of the band playing an intimate set on a stage just large enough to house a drumset. Given room, their 9+ member collective really flourished, with local rap artist and house favorite Fat Tony making a guest appearance to drop a few bars over their jams, the first of many surprises of the Summerfest.

photo credit: glowjangles

The song “Three MC’s and One DJ” should conjure up one thing and one thing only: the Beastie Boys and Mix Master Mike, the latter of which performed a deafeningly loud DJ set for the sweltering Houstonians watching the mainstage. Using old school chops with *gasp, an actual turntable, Mix Master Mike got Houston on its feel to the sounds of hip hop’s greatest, past and present.

Ra Ra Riot came on to an increasingly hot, burning Houston sun, which is surely out of the element. Their orchestral pop numbers, albeit precise and engaging, suffered from the day time heat. Any band with an electric cello (a mighty fine one at that) and a violin ensemble should have the benefit from playing at night time. The band managed to win over several fans after they burned through “Dying is Fine” and “Ghost Under Rocks,” among others off of their 2009 effort, The Rhumb Line.

photo credit: 29-95

Hollywood Floss, a local favorite, just dropped his record House of Dreams. Showing up to Summerfest backed by The Pinecones and Kidd the Great, Floss decided to run through songs off his newly released album, while throwing in his own interpretations to “Seven Nation Army” and Green Day’s “Brain Stew,” both of which were in heavy favor by the crowd. It’s safe to compare the energy of his set to N.E.R.D., which helps due to Floss’ strikingly similar appearance to one Skateboard P.

The sun had begun to set, but that wouldn’t stop Houston’s own Golden Axe from melting faces. A two piece band consisting of ridiculous riffs shredded over an absurdly shaped guitar, and the primal pulverizing of drum skins, Golden Axe brought heavy metal to the party and it was rousingly epic. As if to bring balance to the amount of machismo force in the air behind the Axe, Chicago’s Kid Sister sassed her way onto the stage to the electro beat of “Right Hand Hi” off her debut album Ultraviolet. Sharing the stage with naught more than her own DJ, Kid Sis took to kicking aside stage monitors to give her the appropriate space necessary to jerk and juke to her brand of Chicago house.

The Detroit Cobras from Detroit (surprise-surprise!) kept the girl power going with their gritty and raucous retro rock-and-roll sound, covering american blues and rock standards like “cha cha twist” and “bye bye baby” with a serious blousy swagger.

photo credit: glowjangles

Gregg Gillis aka mash-up master Girl Talk would close out the first night of the festival doing what he does best: stage-dancers, toilet-paper armed leaf-blowers, and hundreds upon hundreds of songs mashed into near oblivion. Ciara’s “My Goodies” coalesced with Boston’s “Foreplay/Longtime.” Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” collided with Dr. Dre’s “Tha Next Episode.” Guns n Roses’s “Paradise City” butted heads with Fat Joe’s “Lean Back.” There wasn’t a moment when someone’s favorite song wasn’t being played. The Summerfest volunteers were repaid for a hard day’s work with the chance to bump and shimmy with Gillis, who not only lost his shirt, but stood atop his DJ table, commanding all of Houston to dance or go home. And what a dance party it was. The whole of Summerfest’s attendees were on their feet, losing their shit to every beat, trying to keep up with Gillis’ manic time changes and song switches.

photo credit: tu-anh pham

To end night one’s festivities, the Houston crowd was treated to a fireworks display that was as awe-striking as any given performer. Seriously, we love fireworks.

Thanks for the recap, SunBear. See you at the next Texas throwdown.

We’re packing up and heading to the Bayou City once again for the 2nd Annual Free Press Summerfest. This year’s headliners include: The Flaming Lips, Girl Talk, Bun B, Ra Ra Riot, and many more local natives trying to breakout at Houston’s sophomore shindig over the two sunny days.

I’m going to go ahead and assume the Summerfest planning committee addressed some of the premiere issue they encountered last year, given their obvious success and impending increase in attendance. Let’s just hope Eleanor Tinsley Park can withstand the full force of The Flaming Lips, though I suspect Wayne & co. will be giving a tame dose of their psychedelic pandemonium.

Check out some photos from last year’s kickoff.

Hope to see y’all there. Cheers!
(Yes, this means you Houston friends.)

While most of us associate Happy Hour with martinis and cranberry vodkas, we forget the other benefit of after-work social bliss: appetizers. Soho has the stocked bar, but also an extensive list of enticing tapas. There was fondue, gnocchi, goat cheese tart, chicken with a truffle whip – each item will cause you to salivate more than the last. Put a group of rowdy ladies together, and you got yourself a buffet of good eats and jubilance all around.

Live Music
What makes Soho even better is the promise of “Live Music Every Night.” Tonight, we caught Thanh Morton, an acoustic guitarist with a passion for love songs. She’s a regular at Soho, but exudes a grace as though it’s her first time. The strums were so relaxing and the mood so ambient, we could’ve easily taken a nap in the corner booth.

Food
As mentioned before, the good selection of tapas can surely satisfy anyone, but the five or six course selection is very tempting. Our Mussels were tasty, the tiger prawns with Oaxaca raviolis live up to its majestic name, and the Suckling Pork with black truffle filled the air and the stomach aptly. Even the bread with the cinnamon butter spread was a hit. (Too bad they were scarce.)

Soho has an upscale feel, but concurrently down-to-earth. We can’t wait to go back. Maybe we’ll see you there!

Guest writer Stephanie C. recants her tales from Saturday.

I had my doubts, after all it is Dallas. And still, my natural inclination is to be a Dallas hater and complain and write about the few things that would help what is hopefully the first annual Homegrown Festival grow into its own for years to come. But, dammit…we had fun. It was cool, cool for Dallas at least.

A Late Start
MeVs didn’t arrive until late afternoon. I won’t lie, the heat of the day kept us away.  Perhaps that is the reason for the sparse crowd early on.  Had we known of the fountains or the covered mist patio,  we probably would have sauntered out there earlier. Wish we had, actually. I’ll blame that on the lack of information on the website. Apparently, Homegrown’s Facebook page was the place to go for questions. Wish we’d known that too.

The Music
Two stages, 14 bands, all things local down to the beer and artist tents. Dallas’s very own local acts, which I had forgotten Dallas had, and judging by the public’s responsiveness have been sorely missed.  This was immediately apparent in the in the amount of hip swaying, head bobbing, and singing that was going on while The O’s played during the remaining daylight hours in the concrete corporate-ness that is downtown Dalla.s Even so, it was so good to see, and felt so good to partake in for that matter. The evening cooled and the always late-arriving Dallas crowd finally started to show when Ishi took the stage and transferred their energy to a surprisingly receptive Dallas audience.  By nightfall, the crowd couldn’t hold back anymore. Headliner, Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights got Dallas to sing and dance their hearts out, no easy feat by any means.  The feel-good authenticity of this night made it, well, downright homegrown-like.

A Humble Beginning
As night fell and the sound (which by this point was much better) ricocheted off of what has oft defined Dallas: skyscrapers, we couldn’t help but feel a little excited. I sincerely hope that this wasn’t a big Dallas tease. Last year’s reopening of Trees, the promise of both Main Street and (the planned) Deck Park, and the steady streaming of local music flowing into venues such as City Tavern or the Double Wide is, for now, enough to get one a-buzz. Dallas’s potential for spotlighting a music scene that’s been largely left in the shadows of its towering skyline was for a few hours that night in full view. So, we’ll jump on the bandwagon of folks that have added “first annual” to Homegrown Fest and cross our fingers. Dallas, please don’t let us down.

-Stephanie C.

It’s 92°F outside; but we’re Texans, so we inherently enjoy turning up the heat to a level others would consider pure masochism. And what better way to (mis)treat ourselves than an old-fashioned crawfish boil.

Of course, there’s Pappadeaux (mediocre size/taste), Nate’s (bland), Cajun Corner (I don’t need my fortune told today), or Boiling Crab (charge for water), but for optimal taste for the price, make your own.

Ingredients:

• five pounds of live crawfish
• a bag of crawfish seasoning
• bay leaves
• onions
• celery
• oranges
• potatoes
• corn
• sausages

Directions:
Get your pot as spicy as you can handle. Drop the potatoes and corn in first, they take much longer to cook. Add the rest of the ingredients in and cook until satisfied. Slowly steep the crawfish and boil for 10-15 minutes, or until bright red. Top it off with your choice of lemon pepper or garlic butter (or both.) Voila! Deliciousness with a side of burnt lips!

Lakewood, arguably the most neighborly neighborhood in East Dallas, presented the city with a local festival this past Saturday on what turned out to be a fantastically sunny afternoon (no thanks to the weather forecasts). Though expectations were low, Lakewoodstock attendance was relatively high, providing nearby residents with an unorthodox day activity for the kids and kinfolk.

More carnival than festival
Call me spoiled from the adventures of the past, but my definition of a festival has certainly been altered over the past year. Though it was a valiant effort, Lakewoodstock’s entertainment was quite lackluster. Local businesses and community entities did their best to add to the atmosphere with classic carnival staples such as face painting, ring toss, and a bounce house. Seriously, ring toss?

Venue Architecture
With Abrams Rd. splitting the venue in half, attendees were forced to throw away chug their beverages before walking 5 yards into the other half, back and forth, throughout the day. I suppose the party planning committee wanted to showcase local businesses on both sides of Abrams – that I can understand. Why not shut down that portion of Abrams anyways? I’ll chalk it up to first year rookie mistakes by the planning committee.

Silver Linings
Despite my prejudice and minor gripes, my low expectations were definitely exceeded by the sheer strength of the local community. Yes, the limbo between festival and carnival allowed Lakewoodstock to get away with not having some crucial stereotypical elements of either, but for its worth, I enjoyed myself. From the perspective of a local resident, I can see how this would be an attractive event on a Saturday at the end of spring. Boy scouts, the local fire department, and community businesses all pitched in to make this possible. With more helping hands, a little more foresight, and an absurd amount of more live music, I can definitely see this little local baby-festival growing into it’s own.

As you can see, we here at MeVersus have done some renovations to our site. We’ve moved over from WordPress.com onto our our own servers with the help from this How To Migrate WordPress article. The new export/import feature in WordPress really does make the new change easy to tackle. Though our servers did not like some of the larger images from our old posts, once those were addressed, the transition was smooth – complete with tags, authors, and categories.

We hope to bring you a more streamlined interface with emphasis on the large, pretty pictures we take. Thanks to vfxdude for the kick-ass site design and Jon P., our virtual landlord.

Cheers!