This past weekend was a whirlwind of great music in the neighborhood.

During an early show at the Kessler Friday night, Asleep at the Wheel with Mandy Barnett brought us back to the days of “The Texas Playboys from the Lone Star State” and those old heart-breaking Patsy Cline songs.

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After that, we hightailed it across the bridge to see The Relatives open “Triple Play,” the concert that inaugurated the new City Performance Hall downtown Friday. The gospel band, which formed in the 70s in West Dallas, managed to get everyone in the house out of their seats and dancing. The Kessler programmed that show, which also included performances from Pleasant Grove and Seryn. Sarah Jaffe performed earlier in the evening. And the W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy’s symphony also performed as part of the opening festivities. Here is a video clip of their performance.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJiLsps-hfw[/youtube]

The City Performance Hall seats 750, and the sound is as good as it is in the Kessler. It’s like the city looked at the Kessler and said, “Hey let’s build one of those too!” Of course, that’s not how it happened. It took 15 years for the hall to become a reality. But anyway, good dang job, City of Dallas! The venue is simple and modern. There’s no flash or fanciness. It’s not a baroque opera house. It’s plain, even. But it sounds amazing.

Cleburne-based garage band the Fungi Girls performed Saturday at the Tradewinds. This little rock show also featured Oddlot, the garage band composed of Dallas music veterans. This show also sounded surprisingly good for being in the back corner of a dive bar. We couldn’t believe this show was free. Not only that, but Oddlot’s EP is free to download. Download the Fungi Girls full-length album for just $5.