As always, this weekend brings decision making to the forefront. There are multiple cool shows going on around town and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming looking over that page of complete listings, so allow me to make a few recommendations for filling up your weekend with as much live (and cheap/free) music as possible...

Thursday night, June 1, 2006 (forget about the Mavs for one night...its only game 5!) Cas Haley sits with Travis Brink (guitar/vocals) at Cretia's on McKinney (McKinney & Armstrong, across from Knox Street Pub) for some acoustic goodness. Last week they hooked me with their opening song(s), Legalize It->Garden Grove->Caress Me Down! (I am not trying to neglect Travis, I just have seen Cas more times with Woodbelly, and Cas has one of the sweetest voices in the metroplex, and am saying that as objectively as possible.) Look forward to a healthy mix of songs from artists like Stevie Wonder, Sublime and the reggae classics (but they play some less traditional stuff too...I dont know how you cover Eminem and then call yourself a "roots acoustic duo", but it doesnt matter what you call it, those roots by another name would smell as sweet. DID I MENTION THAT ITS FREE! And you might not even need to try to bump elbows with some of the Dallas music scene's brightest stars (literally, the bar area where Cas and Travis play can get a little crowded at times and many local artists who know about these guys come out to show some support, have some drinks and share in the groove).

I now realize that I might have too much to say (a good problem to have) to put all of these recommendations for the weekend into one post...it looks like one per day (lucky readers!) Also, for the language-heads out there, please excuse my punctuation and parentheseseses, I like to throw commentary into my own writing. Hopefully, you'll see what I mean when you see the show.

Have fun! Be Safe! See you there!