Events

Cheers To New! is a Staged Reading Series featuring new plays and a drinking game. Come drink along with us and experience some new work in a new way! We are always Pay-What-You-Can, and will take any donations you’d like to give at the door.

This month’s play is The Closet, conceived by Jacie Hood!

“Meet Joe and her two best friends Olli and River on just another Thursday night at their favorite bar, The Closet. As Joe begins questioning her life and choices, her imagination begins to run wild using the world around her as actors in the play in her mind. Combining scripted scenes and comedic improv, The Closet is a queer theatrical match made in heaven.”

Legendary saxophonist Peter Brötzmann is coming to Dallas for the first time. Join us to experience the controlled rawness of his playing along with the pedal steel of Heather Leigh. Illustrious artists Joe Baiza (guitar) and Jason Kahn (Drums) will open the soirée with their punk infused free improvisation. Come and check out what the outskirts of Jazz sounds like.

Mutarrancho will be selecting mucha buena musica before and between their sets.

$20 Cover Fee. Tickets here.

BRÖTZMANN/LEIGH

Peter Brötzmann
Peter Brötzmann is one of the most prolific and enduring of the free jazz musicians to emerge from the European avant music scene of the 1960s. His rough tone and emotively ferocious method of attack on saxophones, clarinet, and taragato are among the most recognizable in jazz. He has played on literally hundreds of recordings — many of them live — from solo concerts to large ensemble dates and virtually every configuration in between. He is the rare Albert Ayler-influenced saxophonist capable of producing improvised lines of depth and sensitivity while informing them with enough raw power to make a lesser saxophonist wilt.

While recordings of his various trios exist as early as 1964, it is the historic 1967 album For Adolphe Sax with bassist Peter Kowald and drummer Sven-Åke Johansson, on his own BRÖ label, as well as his octet date Machine Gun from 1968 and his membership in the Globe Unity Orchestra that established his bona fides on the scene. His catalogue reads like a vanguard’s who’s who in free jazz and experimental rock. Brötzmann’s playing possesses a surety of tone and a melodic center characteristic of a focused musical conception. While there’s no lack of spontaneity in his music, Brötzmann’s concern with motivic and melodic reiteration gives his playing a palpable sense of direction.

Heather Leigh
The daughter of a coal miner, weaving a trail from West Virginia to Texas and now residing in Scotland, Heather Leigh furthers the vast unexplored reaches of pedal steel guitar. Her playing is as physical as it is phantom, combining spontaneous compositions with a feel for the full interaction of flesh with hallucinatory power sources. With a rare combination of sensitivity and strength, Leigh’s steel mainlines sanctified slide guitar and deforms it using hypnotic tone-implosions, juggling walls of bleeding amp tone with choral vocal constructs and wrenching single note ascensions.

Since 2015, Brötzmann/Leigh have established themselves as a formidable duo, touring extensively and electrifying audiences with their singular, dynamic group sound. Together they bring countless decades of experience at the cutting edge of ferocious speed-of-thought improvisation and deep lyrical soul.

http://www.peterbroetzmann.com/
http://www.wishimage.com/

JOE BAIZA & JASON KAHN

Joe Baiza
Joe Baiza (1952) is a punk rock and improvising guitarist whom Eugene Chadbourne cites as one of the most noteworthy guitarists to emerge from the Southern California punk rock milieu.Baiza is a founding member of the bands Saccharine Trust, Universal Congress Of, and The Mecolodiacs. He also performed guest guitar spots on several Minutemen tracks and played alongside Black Flag’s Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski in the SST all-star jam band October Faction, recording two albums with them. Baiza was also part of the musical side project Nastassya Filippovna which featured Bob Lee (drums), Devin Sarno (bass) and Mike Watt (bass).

Baiza substituted for Nels Cline during Mike Watt’s European and American tours behind his second solo album, Contemplating the Engine Room, in 1997 and 1998. Also in 1997, he and Cline played (sometimes together) in the band Solo Career with Lee (drums), Richard Derrick (bass), Walter Zooi (trumpet) and Gustavo Aguilar (percussion). Currently, Baiza plays with Saccharine Trust as well as the improvisational unit Unknown Instructors with former Minutemen Mike Watt and George Hurley.

Jason Kahn
Jason Kahn (born 1960) is a musician, artist and writer. He was born 1960 in New York and grew up in Los Angeles. In 1990 he re-located to Europe and is currently based in Zürich. Working with drums, voice, guitar and electronics Kahn collaborates regularly with many musicians in projects which blur the edges between improvisation, electronics, noise and rock.

https://soundcloud.com/jasonkahn/sets/joe-baiza-jason-kahn
http://jasonkahn.net
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-baiza-mn0000116712/biography

Sock Story – C K Smouha, 2019
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale – Mo Willems, 2004
Shadow Wash – from Where The Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein, 1974

Hey kids! Hey families! Welcome back to weekend story time! In many households, Sunday is laundry day, and Kids In the Cliff this weekend is all about laundry, but don’t worry – no chores, no bores, all fun! We start with a brand-new, totally cool new book with a story and cut-out cover kids will love before hitting kid classics and an activity! So come join us at The Wild Detectives’ little house for a cozy and comical date with books before loading your little ones’ laundry. See you in the kids’ section!

*Special note for parents: As usual, we’ll have related extra books on hand in case you are looking for other excellent picture books we recommend! Particular emphasis is placed on striking illustrations, great graphic design or standout writing. Titles may be brand new, old treasures, from home, our kids’ section or the local library, but they are always picked with love and a sense of adventure. If there’s a book you’d love, consider our ordering service!

Kids In The Cliff storytime at The Wild Detectives is every Sunday morning at 11. As people who’ve been there, we strive to select themes or titles that will be interesting enough to pique not only children’s, but also the attending adults’ curiosity. It’ll be about a 30-45 minute read each time with something different and fun for the kids–that’s going to be interesting; we can’t wait to see what they come up with.

All ages are welcome.

On Sunday mornings, bring your kids and infuse them with a love of reading.

– – – – –

Kids In The Cliff is organized by Lanie DeLay, who has worked at Dallas Contemporary, the Dallas Public Library, Hamon Arts Library at SMU, at area preschools and the School For The Blind in Austin. She has written for Glasstire and Art&Seek, and she tutors children in early reading skills at Dealey Montessori. When she isn’t looking at art or reading with kids, she’s reading about art or looking for a new read.

Con motivo de nuestro festival feminista Women Galore, y la visita a dicho festival de la escritora mexicana Gabriela Jáuregui, hemos elegido para nuestro Book Club, Tsunami, la antología de autoras femininas que editó el año pasado para Sexto Piso.

Tsunami es una antología de textos hechos por grandes escritoras latinoamericanas de diferentes generaciones en los que se reflexiona sobre la representación –o falta de ella de ella– de las mujeres en el mundo y en la literatura; las definiciones y etiquetas que son impuestas, que se trazan en violencia histórica y cultural, pero también en las resistencias.

Gabriela Jáuregui es natural de Ciudad de México. Cursó un máster en escritura creativa en la Universidad de California, Riverside, y tiene otro máster en literatura comparada por la Universidad de California, Irvine. Ha escrito una colección de poesías Controlled Decay (en inglés) y recientemente una colección de escritos y relatos, La memoria de las cosas (en español). Fue seleccionada entre los 40 escritores de menos de 40 años más importantes del momento por el Hay Festival, como parte de Bogotá 39.

Edición y prólogo de Gabriela Jáuregui. Autoras: Brenda Lozano, Cristina Rivera de la Garza, Daniela Rea, Diana J. Torres, Gabriela Jauregui, Jimena González, Margo Glantz, Sara Uribe, Verónica Gerber, Vivian Abenshushan, Yasnaya Elena A. Gil y Yolanda Segura.

Como siempre, aplicaremos un 10% de descuento para los asistentes al book club tanto en la compra de este libro como en las consumiciones de que disfruten el día del evento.

Os esperamos.

Hosted by Paul & Reverie Koniecki, Stone Soup Poetry Group Peer Workshop is a poetry critique group sponsored by The Writer’s Garret. We write and critique poetry of any genre. We meet at The Wild Detectives from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, on 4th Tuesdays of the month.

Pieces should be no more than 2 pages, double-spaced, in a readable font. Bring about 8 copies for distribution to the group. Group members are free to make notes on the copy for the poet’s consideration. During the session, we will have a group member read the piece aloud, then have the poet read the piece aloud. After this, the poem will be discussed by the group as if the poet were not there, like an editorial board; comments or questions are not directed to the poet. This encourages objective, honest, impersonal commentary and group interaction.

The author does not speak during the critique of their piece. After the critique is done, the author can interact, give feedback, ask/answer questions, etc. At the conclusion of the critique, all copies will be returned to the author. It is important to remember that this is a workshop format, not a performance. Come prepared to have your work critiqued. If you feel that a particular poem is finished, you may feel more comfortable saving that item for a public reading event.

Joy Again is a Philadelphia based 5-piece founded in 2015. The band, whose founding members met in boarding school, hasreleased debut singles on Mom + Pop (U.S.) and Lucky Number (U.K.). Their latest effort, “EP”, was released on Never Grow Up Records in early 2017, earning them nods from NME and FADER. Listen to Joy Again here.

Tickets here.

Clarence James opening.
May 29th at the Wild Detectives.
Show begins at 8pm.

Imagine if our earth could talk? What would she tell us? Using puppetry, instruments and imaginative costumes made from recycled materials, join a young boy on an interactive journey into ancient roots that reveal how we can care for our greatest treasure, Tlali, the earth. For all ages, this bilingual production celebrates Latin American mythology and its cultural connection to sustainability and ecology.

The performance is FREE and open to the public.

Please visit Teatro Dallas for information.
teatrodallas.org
214-689-6492

This event is underwritten by The Office of Cultural Affairs, the Texas Commission on ther Arts and Patricia and Milfred Hammerbacher

The Princess And The Warrior – Duncan Tonatiuh, 2016
Here We Are: Notes For Living On Planet Earth – Oliver Jeffers, 2017
Not A Box – Antoinette Portis, 2006

Welcome one and all to a very, very special Kids In The Cliff event day! This Sunday morning at 10:30, Teatro Dallas will be coming to The Wild Detectives to put on a play for children before story time usually begins. Tlali: When We Were Earth is a free presentation of an approximately 30 to 45-minute original production for children that involves recycling, puppetry, costumes and instruments. After the play concludes, we will have story time with The Princess and the Warrior, a book specially recommended by Teatro Dallas to tie in with the performance, and if time permits, we will have more related reading and fun as well. So come join us at The Wild Detectives’ little house early this week for an engaging Sunday morning with books and performing arts. See you there!

*Special note for parents: As usual, we’ll have related extra books on hand in case you are looking for other excellent picture books we recommend! Particular emphasis is placed on striking illustrations, great graphic design or standout writing. Titles may be brand new, old treasures, from home, our kids’ section or the local library, but they are always picked with love and a sense of adventure. If there’s a book you’d love, consider our ordering service!

Kids In The Cliff storytime at The Wild Detectives is every Sunday morning at 11. As people who’ve been there, we strive to select themes or titles that will be interesting enough to pique not only children’s, but also the attending adults’ curiosity. It’ll be about a 30-45 minute read each time with something different and fun for the kids–that’s going to be interesting; we can’t wait to see what they come up with.

All ages are welcome.

On Sunday mornings, bring your kids and infuse them with a love of reading.

– – – – –

Kids In The Cliff is organized by Lanie DeLay, who has worked at Dallas Contemporary, the Dallas Public Library, Hamon Arts Library at SMU, at area preschools and the School For The Blind in Austin. She has written for Glasstire and Art&Seek, and she tutors children in early reading skills at Dealey Montessori. When she isn’t looking at art or reading with kids, she’s reading about art or looking for a new read.

Writing Workshops Dallas Happy Hour in the backyard at The Wild Detectives takes place on the first Tuesday of every month from 6PM – 8PM. Each month we’ll raffle off books, enjoy drink specials, and talk reading, writing, and everything in between. Come out if want to meet other writers in Dallas and talk shop. It doesn’t matter if you’re a current or former WWD student or if you’ve never head of Writing Workshops Dallas at all, we’d love for you to be part of the thriving literary community at the best bookstore in town.

Our mission is to bring writers out of the wilderness and into community. In fact, we were founded on the basis that having a literary community is essential to the life of any creative writer. Finding a community is an important step that leads most writers to take their work and craft more seriously. We’re proud to be part of the thriving literary scene in Dallas and we hope to see you at Happy Hour!

First Tuesday of Every Month – 6:00PM to 8:00PM

Happy Hour meets at The Wild Detectives at 314 W Eighth St, Dallas, TX 75208

Pick up your OCFF 2019 VIP badge and join this year’s sponsors, filmmakers, and guests for a cocktail party kick-off event! With DJ Wanz Dover – Filmmaker, Press or VIP Badge required.

Tickets here.

This feature length documentary explores the seminal 90’s rock band Brainiac from Dayton, OH and its creative force Tim Taylor. Just days before signing a major record contract, Taylor was killed in a bizarre auto accident leaving his family, friends and fans to pick up the pieces. The film celebrates the life and creativity of one of rock music’s unsung heroes and how people cope with extreme and sudden loss and life changes.

USA, 108 min.

Tickets here.

“Yesterday” Post-Screening Concert! The California Psych-pop-rock band Mystic Braves have been called “The Mexican Beatles” and they are ok with that. See them live in the backyard of Wild Detectives following the screening of Yesterday at The Bishop Arts Theater Center! Houston psych-rockers Flower Graves open. Co-Presented by POF.

Additional Ticket or Filmmaker or VIP Badge Required.

Tickets here.

Inner Moonlight welcomes Kendra Greene and Matthew Klane this month! Brief open mic to follow. Bring a poem. We dare you.

Kendra Greene became an essayist during a Fulbright grant in South Korea, completed her MFA at the University of Iowa as a Jacob K. Javits Fellow, and for a few years convinced the Dallas Museum of Art they needed a Writer in Residence. She is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of creative writing at UT Dallas, Associate Editor of prose at the Southwest Review, and not infrequently can be found as a Visiting Artist at the Nasher Sculpture Center. She is the author of three chapbooks published by Anomalous Press, and her first book is forthcoming from Penguin Books in Summer 2020. Her broadside printing can be seen in the solo exhibition TOXIC at The Reading Room, Saturdays from May 18-June 22.

Matthew Klane is co-editor at Flim Forum Press. His books include Canyons (w/ James Belflower, Flim Forum, 2016), Che (Stockport Flats, 2013) and B (Stockport Flats, 2008). An e-chapbook from Of the Day is online at Delete Press and an e-book My is online at Fence Digital. Recent work is online or forthcoming at Barzakh, Homonym, Pulpmouth, and The Spectacle. He currently lives and writes in Albany, NY, where he curates the The REV Poetry Series and teaches at Russell Sage College. See: matthewklane.com.

Inner Moonlight is the second Wednesday of every month. Mark your calendar and we’ll see you there!

“Follow your inner moonlight, don’t hide the madness.”
—Allen Ginsberg, from On Being a Writer

Our next pick for The WD Book Club will be The Dreamers, by author Karen Thompson Walker.

One night in an isolated college town in the hills of Southern California, a first-year student stumbles into her dorm room, falls asleep–and doesn’t wake up. She sleeps through the morning, into the evening. Her roommate, Mei, cannot rouse her. Neither can the paramedics, nor the perplexed doctors at the hospital. When a second girl falls asleep, and then a third, Mei finds herself thrust together with an eccentric classmate as panic takes hold of the college and spreads to the town. A young couple tries to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. Two sisters turn to each other for comfort as their survivalist father prepares for disaster. Those affected by the illness, doctors discover, are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, higher than has ever been recorded before. They are dreaming heightened dreams–but of what?

“The Dreamers is harrowing, riveting, profoundly moving, and beautifully written. In a word, this book is stunning.” –Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven

“In The Dreamers, Karen Thompson Walker’s second novel, dreams are . . . both more dangerous and more powerful than the Greeks could have ever imagined. . . . Walker uses evocative language to describe the almost bewitching nature of contagion.” –The Washington Post

“[An] imaginative, disturbing, and ultimately spellbinding narrative, which asks provocative questions about our concepts of time and connection, and the bounds of possibility for life on earth.” –Vogue

“Richly imaginative and quietly devastating . . . Walker jolts the narrative with surprising twists, ensuring it keeps its energy until the end. This is a skillful, complex, and thoroughly satisfying novel about a community in peril.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Karen Thompson Walker is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Age of Miracles, which has been translated into twenty-seven languages and named one of the best books of the year by People, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Financial Times, among others. Born and raised in San Diego, Walker is a graduate of UCLA and the Columbia MFA program. She lives with her husband, the novelist Casey Walker, and their two daughters in Portland. She is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon.

As always, Book Club members (meaning you just show up) will enjoy a 10% discount on the next book club title and on every item they’ll ask for at the bar during the Book Club meeting.

Let’s meet up and talk Literature.

“If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound,
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour!”

Join us for music, love, and drunken fools (just characters in the play of course…) Love misunderstood and identities confus’d!? DOES THIS SCREAM COMEDY OR WHAT!?!?! Have some laughs and music with us this summer with Twelfth Night!

Come see us use our talents!
Katy Tye Taylor Harris Beth Lipton Justin Locklear Matthew Allan Holmes Ben Bryant Lee George Jeremiah Johnson Dakota Ratliff Ethan Norris Michael Johnson Marcus Stimac Shawn Gann Michael Friggen Stimac

“God give them wisdom that have it; and those
that are fools, let them use their talents.”

TICKET DETAILS:
Tickets will go on sale at NOON MAY 24th (12 and 12×2?!?!?) here.

TICKETS NOW A FLAT $10!
You don’t worry about the tax at the door and we’ll shuffle for change awkwardly less!

If we sell out: 50 tickets will be made available day-of-show, starting at 6:30pm on a first-come, first- served basis. You must be present in-person to get your walk-up ticket, one per person.

We will also be raffling off 26 free tickets per show- to be entered in the raffle, email shakespeareinthebar@gmail.com with your name and which date you would like to attend, for the chance to win 2 tickets! Raffle winners will be announced MONDAY JUNE 3rd.