Over The Weekend: An Early Christmas Present For Denton, TX

This weekend held quite a musical extravaganza for our fair burg of Denton. A trifecta of some of Denton’s best venues: Hailey’s, Dan’s Silverleaf and Andy’s Bar all had a special night of music for our listening pleasure. And all being located within the rim of the quaint Denton Square, you could almost see a golden glow of musical grandeur radiating outward into the open sky of Saturday night.

The annual Spune Christmas Show at Hailey’s rolled around again for an early Christmas surprise that did not let down. First of all, it was a five-dollar show, so we’re starting out on a good note. Upon acquiring the essentials from the bar, I headed in to find a new, yet highly buzzed about group, Baruch The Scribe, seducing the packed room from the main stage with their haunting, Balkan folk-style melodies.

After finishing their set, all I had to do was simply turn around to find the immediate beginning of an intimate set with Doug Burr on the second stage, whom near the end of his set, threw his set notes into the air, stepped away from the mic and went into a classic version of “Silent Night” that got the whole crowd singing together as if it were a hymn in Sunday service. It was a strange, yet wonderful and peaceful feeling and gave me a great sense of humanity around the general heart and soul area.

Following Doug Burr, a new group to my ears, though highly regaled by my fiddle player Mark, Seryn took to the main stage to great cheers from the crowd. I had never heard them before. But with their upbeat, folky melodies of banjo, fiddle and even the hammer dulcimer at times, mixed with their fresh vocal harmonies, I could not help but quickly become a fan of Seryn.

At this point, I make a short walk over to Dan’s Silverleaf to see the ol’ boys from 100 Damned Guns opening up for the King Bucks. After catching about the last half of 100DG fast-paced, set of country ballads, who always put on a great show and are genuinely nice guys, I braved the chilly Saturday night air and stepped out for a smoke, as Dan’s is now one of the few places in Denton to become non-smoking. Remember that, kiddies! The King Bucks then took to the stage and played through a pocket full of slow, country originals to boot-stompin’ honky-tonk classics until I realized that the night had to go on!

One more shot of Jameson to warm the bones, the march led back through the cold to Hailey’s for the headlining act, Telegraph Canyon. A group of talented instrumentalists, these guys combine some very compelling lyrics with layers of complicated and driving melodies in a stripped down and raw performance. A great act to see live and almost ends the night’s musical journey, but not quite yet!

The road then led to where it usually does for me, Andy’s Bar. My second home, Andy’s also played host tonight to a little two-man crew called RTB2. You might’ve heard of ‘em. Front man Ryan Thomas Becker, whom also just added to our “Guestlist” postings, is one of the most talented and eccentric musicians this side of the San Gabriel River. If you have heard RTB2, that is one thing. But seeing them live is quite the experince; amazingly mind-blowing and completely raw and different.

This was the perfect nightcap to a night filled with some of the area’s most potent and intoxicating acts and made for the best musical binge I have had since NX35 back in March of this year. For those that witnessed, you can agree. For those who did not, well… there’s always next Christmas, darlin’.

Cory Coleman -[c]