The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth will host Modern ‘Til Midnight on Saturday, April 10. Featuring live performances by Monastery, The Orbans, Seryn and Warpaint, as well as the the exhibit Andy Warhol: The Last Decade.

WEW WOW’d us at Downtown Brew on Thursday night. He put on an excellent show despite the large amount of whiskey that was presented to him by his loyal fans.  He took it like a man and graciously drank what was offered, showing no signs of sway in his performance.  William is impressive on several levels: his voice, his banjo playing, but most of all, his humble approach is what makes him a pleasure to watch.  I hope to see this guy touring for years to come.   You can check another clip of his song “Take it on the Chin” on YouTube.

William Elliott Whitmore’s latest, Animals in the Dark, is out now on ANTI-.

Before braving the hipster throngs and 24-hour industry parties of South by Southwest, M. Ward played an intimate show at the Dallas Museum of Art. No badges required.

Ward took the Horchow Auditorium’s empty stage with just his acoustic guitar– he didn’t need much more to impress. After burning through “Duet for Guitars, No. 3,” (on one guitar, mind you) Ward settled into a satisfying list of familiar favorites and Hold Time stand-outs.

“I don’t normally play in museums,” Ward confessed between songs, in one of his few asides to the audience. “But, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

Songs such as “Never Had Nobody Like You” and “Magic Trick,” whose album versions move with full pop arrangements were stripped bare and slowed– suggesting what these songs might have sounded like when Ward first heard them himself as he was writing them. Ward’s hushed folk songs, such as “I’ll Be Yr Bird” and “Fuel for Fire,” carried in the silent auditorium, with not a clinking beer bottle or cell phone conversation in their way.

Ward kept the show simple– moving between his acoustic guitar and the hulking grand piano that sat in the rear of the stage– but pulled one trick from his bag. On “Oh Lonesome Me,” he used a guitar effects pedal to loop the rhythm chords as he played the sleepy slide lead over the top. The song took on a long interlude when he let the loop play, shot the audience a “Be right back” look, left the stage and returned after a few moments with a drink.

Ward ended his set with “Story of an Artist,” Daniel Johnston’s lament to a life of being misunderstood and unappreciated– an interesting choice for an artist who had just proven himself in front of a room of true believers.

Setlist:
1. Duet for Guitars, No. 3
2. Fuel for Fire
3. Never Had Nobody Like You
4. One Hundred Million Years
5. Oh Lonesome Me
6. I’ll Be Yr Bird
7. Chinese Translation
8. Hold Time
9. Vincent O’Brien
10. Sad, Sad Song

Encore:
11. Magic Trick
12. Poison Cup
13. Here Comes the Sun Again
14. Story of an Artist (Daniel Johnston cover)

Photo courtesy Texwurld.

With the new year upon us, here’s a look at my hasty list of favorites from 2008. I’m looking forward to more great music in 2009.

Best New Music:
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Dr. Dog – Fate
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Okkervil River – The Stand Ins
Joe Pug – Nation of Heat EP (review)
The Tallest Man on Earth – Shallow Grave (review)
The Walkmen – You & Me
Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs
Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel – Dual Hawks

Best Shows:
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band - American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Bob Dylan – House of Blues, Dallas, Texas
Okkervil River and Black Joe Lewis – Granada Theater, Dallas, Texas
Fleet Foxes and Frank Fairfield – Lola’s Saloon, Fort Worth, Texas

Joe, our designer and contributor, adds these shows as his favorites from 2008:
Ryan Adams – Arlington Theater, Santa Babara, Calif.
Flobots – Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Leon Russell – Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

You can grab Flobots current release “Fight with Tools” on iTunes or your local record store.

You can also find out how to  “Chang the World” by checking out their cause here: http://www.fightwithtools.org/

Fleet Foxes – Lola’s 9/26/08 from You and Yours on Vimeo.

Fleet Foxes rolled through Fort Worth last month. The Friday night show at Lola’s was a precursor to their Saturday performance at Austin’s ACL Fest. This band must be seen live, and I feel lucky to have caught them, not only in my town but in such an intimate setting. I doubt they will be playing venues this small for long.

You and Yours Productions was at Lola’s for the show and captured this wonderful video. “English House,” leads off with a mesmerizing clip of “Sun Giant,” both from the Sun Giant EP.