Concert Spillover

Dallas feels the groove from Austin PsychFest music festival

For years, Dallas-Fort Worth music lovers have enjoyed the effects of the annual Austin-based extravaganzas South by Southwest and Austin City Limits. We don't have to suffer through massive crowds and even larger lines for beer while sitting through dozens of bands we don't want to see just to catch a 40-minute set from one of our favorite acts. That's because nearly all stop by Dallas on their way to or from the Texas capital.

In the very recent past, the edgy, somewhat dangerous Fun Fun Fun Fest has begun to provide the same positive outpouring of nationally touring talent. This year, the Austin PsychFest — now in its sixth, stellar year — can officially be added to the list of Austin festivals that benefit North Texan music fans.

To sum it up, these are some the concerts coming to Dallas-Fort Worth thanks to Austin PsychFest spillover.

Thursday, April 25

Black Mountain, Besnard Lakes and Suuns at Dada
All three of these bands play at PsychFest, and Vancouver's Black Mountain headlines this sweet bill in Dallas. But it's another Canadian band that people shouldn't miss. Besnard Lakes, led by Jace Lasek and his wife, have yet to release a bum album. Their brand-new record, Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO, is perhaps the best yet. As with the other shows on this list, expect the walls to rattle from the synth- and guitar-driven soundscapes emanating from the stage.

Friday, April 26

Man Or Astroman? at Dada
One of the stranger acts to come out of Alabama — that we can think of, at least — is the psycho, surf-rock-loving group who are touring to promote the addictive Defcon 5...4...3...2...1, the group's first proper release in 12 years. Any band that's led by dudes named Starcrunch and Birdstuff is probably worth catching live, especially if they're known to shred the stage.

Clinic and No Joy at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton
Continuing the international trend of bands coming through this week, England's post-punk crew has a new set of tunes to play, thanks to the excellent Free Reign LP. For fans of the Doors or the Black Angels, this is a band you need to know if you don't already. Dan's is an excellent setting for this show. Get there early enough to catch the set from No Joy, the Montreal-based band of shoegazers that just released the very epic Wait to Pleasure.

Boris at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio in Denton
This band of Japanese women brings the noise. Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio is a perfect venue for Boris, as the walls seem to be damn near indestructible. With an experimental catalog that goes back to 1996, Boris experiments with its sound, creating a psychedelic vibe. It's not noise; it's deafening bliss. Don't miss killer local opening acts Pinkish Black and Bludded Head. Good luck to you and your set of senses.

Saturday, April 27

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at House of Blues
One of the headliners of PsychFest, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is supporting its newly released, addictive record, Specter at the Feast. Although it's less dark and more anthem-esque than past offerings, these American garage-rock heroes know when to groove and when to thrash. Seeing them outdoors late at night in a festival setting would be cool, but the set at House of Blues likely will feature a light display that rivals the tunes. Stay safe out there.

Sunday, April 28

Os Mutantes at The Kessler
Canada and Japan aren't the only foreign lands represented in Texas this week. Brazil's Os Mutantes ("The Mutants," in English) brings a mystical brand of experimental psych-folk to The Kessler stage. Touring in support of new album Fool Metal Jack, the veteran crew (a rather large outfit, actually) puts a swirling spin on what many know as "world music." The band certainly knows what it's doing by now, as members started performing in the late-1960s, though they did take a lengthy hiatus. This group knows where to find the groove.

Canada's Besnard Lakes created perhaps the best album so far this year.

Photo by Richmond Lam

Canada's Besnard Lakes created perhaps the best album so far this year.

Wicked News

Wizard of Oz ruby slippers bought by mystery bidder for $28 million

Ruby slippers

Heritage Auctions

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A pair of iconic ruby slippers that were worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz and stolen from a museum nearly two decades ago sold for a winning bid of $28 million at auction on December 7.

Dallas-based Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or more, but the fast-paced bidding far outpaced that amount within seconds and tripled it within minutes. A few bidders making offers by phone volleyed back and forth for 15 minutes as the price climbed to the final, eye-popping sum.

Including the auction house fee, the unknown buyer will ultimately pay $32.5 million.

Online bidding, which opened last month, had stood at $1.55 million before live bidding began late Saturday afternoon.

The sparkly red heels were on display at the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005 when Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case. Their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018.

Martin, now 77, who lives near Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, wasn’t publicly exposed as the thief until he was indicted in May 2023. He pleaded guilty in October 2023. He was in a wheelchair and on supplementary oxygen when he was sentenced last January to time served because of his poor health.

The shoes were returned in February to memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who had loaned them to the museum. They were one of several pairs that Garland wore during the filming, but only four pairs are known to have survived. In the movie, to return from Oz to Kansas, Dorothy had to click her heels three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home.”

As Rhys Thomas, author of The Ruby Slippers of Oz, put it, the sequined shoes from the beloved 1939 musical have seen “more twists and turns than the Yellow Brick Road.”

Over 800 people had been tracking the slippers, and the company’s webpage for the auction had hit nearly 43,000 page views by Thursday, said Robert Wilonsky, a vice president with the auction house.

Among those bidding to bring the slippers home was the Judy Garland Museum, which posted on Facebook shortly after that it did not place the winning bid. The museum had campaigned for donations to supplement money raised by the city of Grand Rapids at its annual Judy Garland festival and the $100,000 set aside this year by Minnesota lawmakers to help the museum purchase the slippers.

After the slippers sold, the auctioneer told bidders and spectators in the room and watching online that the previous record for a piece of entertainment memorabilia was $5.52 million, for the white dress Marilyn Monroe famously wore atop a windy subway grate.

The auction also included other memorabilia from The Wizard of Oz, such as a hat worn by Margaret Hamilton, who played the original Wicked Witch of the West. That item went for $2.4 million, or a total final cost to the buyer of $2.93 million.

The Wizard of Oz story has gained new attention in recent weeks with the release of the movieWicked, an adaptation of the megahit Broadway musical, a prequel of sorts that reimagines the character of the Wicked Witch of the West.

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