My first click over to this week’s Dallas Observer was a pleasing one. My new first read each week is Dave Sims’ new column, North of the Dial. Yeah, I’m somewhat biased cuz I’ve known and loved Dave for years, but I also really respect his writin’ abilities and I ain’t met a band from Denton yet, that I don’t like.

This week I was particularly pleased with Dave’s shout-out to those Gutterth boys. Michael and Brent are good folks, and they put on some hella shows that rival any best-of-the-best shows in DdFW….

…Michael Briggs, on the other hand, is the rare musician who thrives on all of it. Briggs and his friend Brent Frishman run Gutterth Productions, which, for the last two years, has put together more than 20 of the best Denton and Dallas billings with their Gutterth Live series. The events began as a thinly veiled scheme to allow Briggs’ band Malise to share the stage with The Paper Chase, whom he had admired for years. That show was a success, and it occurred to Briggs that instead of waiting on the whim of local venue calendars, he could arrange the concerts he wanted to see himself…Read

I have this thing about putting stickers on my car. Don’t want ‘em on there, won’t put ‘em on there…but for Gutterth I made an exception.

Take a gander at the show the boys have set up for next weekend…

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I read anything written by Merritt Martin. I also read anything penned by Darryl Smyers, ‘specially if it pertains to Eleven Hundred Springs.

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Then I clicked over to Pete Freedman’s review of Quick’s Big Thing.

I read it three times to make sure I was really reading what I was reading. Pete? Really? Lemme preface this by saying that I like Pete Freedman. I like him a lot. But he’s sort of put a burr in my britches (no, not Doug, getcher mind outta the gutter) with his entirely snarky and overly harsh review of an evening which I found quite divine. To each their own, I suppose, but this review just seems really…I dunno…below the belt or something.

Course I’m pretty defensive when it comes to Quick, and certainly Hunter Hauk. Those folks have all been real good to me, even forgiving. I was invited to be a panelist and a presenter for the event…so I guess I’m taking the review personally. I’ve also already admitted that, after the horror of being on stage to present, I basically proceeded to the backstage area Green Room with full intent to get sloshed. So I only know what I know…and I know it was a great event, tons of fun and a huge endeavor for Quick (ya know, they have a teeny-tiny staff). Hell, I was downright proud to have been a part of it.

I just don’t understand the pokes and jabs, Pete. I think we’ve got room for a couple of good music events (or awards) sponsored by the city’s media. Why not? It’s the only time this ol’ gal gets offered a free drink, and it’s fun to have so many musicians, of whom I am both friend and fan, in one room for an evening.

That friggin’ Palladium is downright cavernously humongous. Hell, I got lost behind the stage area. I thought the crowd seemed pretty filled-out, considering the size of the venue, and well attended for a Thursday night.

Oh well, soapbox folded and stored away…Read Pete’s take here.

The rest of the music section can be found here.