In my last exciting entry, I told you about my recent visit to the House of Blues in Dallas, which I rather enjoyed and heartily endorse to you all. When I left you, we were waiting for the band (Tokio Hotel) to come on stage. And waiting. And waiting.
That’s the Tokio Hotel symbol up there on the curtain, by the way.
Tags: Art · Attractions · Culture · Events · Food · Live Music
I spent the evening of August 27, 2008 (last night, as I write this missive) at the Dallas iteration of the House of Blues. HOB is a relatively new addition to the West End; it’s been there, at 2200 N. Lamar, only since 2007. I’ve never been inside before, much less to one of their many concerts, but I have to say this: both are a kick. Especially when you’re rockin’ to a band as young and energetic as Tokio Hotel.
Tags: Attractions · Culture · Events · Food · Live Music
Finally, finally, I’m back. As I mentioned in this entry, I’ve been moving my household, and oh what a pain it’s been. Not only was the move massive — I had to move a whole house full of stuff as well as the leftover stock of my defunct bookstore — the Internet company blundered and turned off my Internet on August 19, A WEEK EARLY. I got it back up a day or so later, but of course all that punched a big hole in my production schedule. I’m still catching up.
Tags: Attractions · Culture · Food · Live Music · Shopping
While tooling around looking for the neighborhood of Lower Greenville recently, I somehow ended up at White Rock Lake and came across the Bath House Cultural Center. Now, anyone who knows Dallas would probably wonder how the hell I managed to end up there when I was supposedly heading for a whole other part of the city, and don’t ask me how it happened; my only excuse is that I was suffering from a combination of too much heat, irritation at a condescending store clerk, an upset stomach, and an annoying bout of moving house. Yes, I really have been living in Dallas for 15 years, and yes, I really did get completely turned around the other day. These things happen to me. Look, shut up.*
Tags: Architecture · Area Lakes · Art · Attractions · Culture · Parks · Theaters
To paraphrase an old Mark Chestnutt song, I’ll sure be glad when these ol’ dog days of summer are gone. There’s just not much brewing here in the middle of August, when it’s omigod hot and the days go on and on — what Southern novelist Babs Deal described as “acres of afternoon.” You want to know what I’ve got planned for the rest of this month? Well, you’ve seen a lot of it already in my recent entries on July Jazz and Symphonic Saturdays, both of which we can thank the civic-minded Town of Addison for. So gracias, Addison, for doing your damnedest to keep culture alive as we slide slowly toward fall.
Tags: Art · Attractions · Culture · Events · Food · Live Music
It’s August in DFW, and you know what that means? Yep, dozens of days in a row with triple-digit temperatures, and not a hell of a lot going on around the metroplex — because hey, it’s too bloody hot. Thank goodness that there’s an oasis in the cultural drought we’ve got around here, and it’s called Addison.
Tags: Culture · Events · Live Music · Parks
Even in the midst of a big city, you can find wonderful places that remind you that concrete, glass, and steel aren’t all there is to the human condition. In my own experience, possibly the best example is Central Park in New York, which is a surprisingly organic place to find in the heart of such a metropolis. I just wish I’d had a chance to see more of that city and park personally while I was stuck up there in the Northeast back in the last decade.
Tags: Natural Features · Parks
Before I get off this restaurant review kick and onto something else, folks, let me point out just one more eatery chain that’s become synonymous with Dallas, at least to me: Café Brazil, which has representatives in ten locations all over the Metroplex. I have no idea what the connection to Brazil is, if there is one, other than the fact that the some of the food is basically Hispanic (if not especially Brazilian). That is, you get a lot of chorizo, migas, etc., but you also get some kickass French toast, rosemary potatoes, and as much coffee as you could ever possibly drink in one sitting.
Tags: Food