The Guestlist w/ Chelsea Callahan

Chelsea Callhan is no stranger to the Dallas music scene. When she’s not busy working with Art Conspiracy, booking some of the best music bills in the city, you may spot her manning a set of turntables as DJ Dirty Cha Cha. For the last 6 years she’s handled the booking duties at the trailer-park themed Double Wide bar, and in that time has made it one of the most consistently legit bars for bands to perform in Dallas. She also throws some of the craziest parties in town; Case in point, her annual Cinco De Cha Cha birthday bashes. All this and I have yet to mention her Manhandler Management company which handles acts like Dallas' Hello Lover. It's no wonder, really than, that she was voted 'Best Local Music Advocate' in the 2009 Dallas Observer Music Awards.


"The Top 5 Shows I Saw in Dallas in the Early 90’s" by Chelsea Callahan

1. Lollapalooza #1

Starplex/August 23, 1991

Jane’s Addiction, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Fishbone, Violent Femmes, Ice-T/Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band

I’m still not sure why my mom let me skip school and drive her car an hour and a half to Dallas when I was only 16, but I am certainly still thankful that she did. My friend Kui and I almost met Ice-T, but when security stepped in we just got shoulder shrug instead. Good enough. There was also a crazy plastic cup throwing thing during Siouxsie & the Banshees that was pretty awesome. And getting to see the original Jane’s Addiction…damn. This was definitely one of the most fun days of my life.


2. Jeff Buckley

21st Amendent located at 2642 Main/November 30th, 1994

The thing about this show is that I didn’t even want to go. My buddy Evan Hisey had to basically drag me there. But then I was totally blown away. I couldn’t believe he was pulling it all off live. And that ended up being the only chance I’d ever have to see him live. I am eternally grateful Mr. Hisey for this show.


3. Fugazi

The Bomb Factory/May 17th, 1993

I saw Fugazi only twice…both shows at Bomb Factory, but this was the first time. They remain one of my all time favorite bands. Of course both were $5 and all ages. God bless them for that.


4. Beastie Boys, Rollins Band, Cypress Hill

Sportatorium/November 20th, 1992

All I can say is that this shit got crazy. Halfway into the first Rollins Band song, the security got caught up in the pit and the barricade and part of the stage got ripped up. The show started again over an hour later….with no security and no barricade at the front. So of course I had to touch all the Beastie Boys.


5. Guns-N-Roses, Metallica, Faith No More

Texas Stadium/September 5, 1992

This was a crazy weekend because Lollapalooza 2 was the next day. I went to this show with about 9 or 10 dudes I went to high school with. We got there real early so we could be at the very front for the whole show…which we were. It was hot as hell. People were passing out during Faith No More. This was the tour that GNR and Metallica were taking turns headlining. We felt pretty gyped because GNR headlined this show, but it was still great. This was also one of the shows where James Hetfield didn’t play guitar because he had burned his arm from pyrotechnics at a previous show and John Marshall from Metal Church filled in on guitar.


Honorable mentions:

Sonic Youth

Agora Ballroom/September 19, 1992


Ministry/Sepultura

Sportatorium/December 15, 1992




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