Thursday, March 29, 2007

No Pabst, no Parliments... how about Fat Tire and a seat on the patio?


Highlands Cafe Concerts at the Cafe begins again! One Saturday night each month, this little restaurant will feature acoustic artists playing all original music. Highlands Cafe is an interesting place. Twenty neighborhood investors, mostly families that live within five miles of the Cafe, revamped a failed bakery in a small strip mall. It's very much a destination venue; if you weren't coming there specifically, you never know it existed. The food is good, ranging from veggie burgers to grilled salmon dinners and steak nachos that are amazing. It's worth the trip for the food alone. Of course, being a restaurant, the Cafe is non-smoking, and being in suburbia, it closes early, by 10pm. Performers usually bring along their families and kids and grandparents and aunts who would never, ever go see them play in Deep Ellum. The vibe is relaxed. Beer and wine are served, as well as the best cake and brownies you ever had.

This Saturday, 3/31, 8-10pm, Valentino will record their new acoustic album at The Cafe. I love Valentino for their acoustic Muse and Killers covers, but they won't be playing those this weekend. Instead they want ambient sounds behind acoustic versions of their own indie lament, "Pabst and Parliments," and I keep kidding them about a jam version of "Cosmonaut." Take a listen on their myspace page, you'll hear why that's probably not that likely to happen. But, you never know... Come, and make some noise for them! You can buy the CD later this year and say you're on a just-released rock-n-roll album. Your hipster cred will go through the cubicle ceiling. heh.

Anyway, good beer, wine, burgers and fine food. And this Saturday, music @ Highlands Cafe. See you then....

Highlands Cafe
9661 Audelia in Lake Highlands
(Audelia & Walnut Hill)
214-349-CAFE

More about the artists this season, just in case Saturday you've got plans (all text shamelessly stolen from their websites)...

03/31/2007 08:00 PM - Valentino records their new acoustic CD at Highlands. Come, make some chatter for them! Dallas-based rock band Valentino got their start in October 2004, when four long-time friends from different musical backgrounds suddenly found themselves without a band at the same time. The result was the harmonious blend of indie rock, blues and punk that has made Valentino a local favorite. After gaining attention in the local music scene for their eclectic sound and ability to mesmerize a crowd, the four-piece rocknroll group began traveling to music venues across the state. Valentino recently shared the stage with notable Texas-based rockers Los Lonely Boys in their home-town of San Angelo.

04/28/2007 08:00 PM - Dylan Sneed
What started as a laid-back sing-along with friends turned into a Saturday night phenomenon. "What I Thought," Dylan's new album is a snapshot of the fun, funky, and folky experience that is a Dylan Sneed live show. Pick one up at the show!

05/19/2007 08:00 PM - Tim Miller
An underground musician who refined his craft over years of performing live, Tim Miller’s music is charged with intense, emotional sounds that convey the personal. Drawing his musical influences from a wide spectrum of artists ranging from Chris Cornell to the Indigo Girls to Stevie Wonder, Miller refined his craft over years of performing live and sings with a conviction that comes from experience.

06/23/2007 08:00 PM - Chris Holt
Chris Holt's songwriting projects include the musical madness that was Olospo and is now known as The Slack...also, he plays in Sorta, Salim Nourallah & The Noise, Johnny Lloyd Rollins, and The Jones Thing...and won a handful of awards recently that he most definitely did deserve.

08/25/2007 08:00 PM - Annie Benjamin is a veteran of the live music scene in Texas with two decades of performances to her credit. She is known for her high energy flute licks, her vocal ability to go from "0 to 180" in the blink of an eye and a unique picking style on her guitar. Her lyrics can be irreverant and silly one minute, poignantly homespun the next.

09/22/2007 08:00 PM - Colin Boyd
The music is pop/rock/folk, which is pretty contemporary. Boyd plays quite a few instruments, including guitars, various percussion instruments, keyboard and accordion... assume this guy’s a big hit out at the Kerrville songwriter festivals (unless his tunes are too pop or something), and since he’s from Plano, he’s a big hit here for sure!

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