Mouth-Watering Music

The sounds of music will fill the night air this spring, as bands and artists of all genres take stages throughout the city.

Whether they're big-name groups or just musicians looking for their next gig, Odessa gladly lends an ear to a diversity of live performers.

One local venue is rising as the hot spot for audio entertainment of all types.

Dos Amigos, 520 W. 47th St., may have a western-country-bar look to its facility, but show nights draw more than country music fans alone.

Tattoos, body piercings and colored hair light the eclectic crowds for concerts of alternative music, thrash metal, industrial rock, post-punk and hard-core hip hop at the popular venue. Traditional country, rock 'n' roll and pop sounds also fill the stage at times.

For Dos Amigos owner and talent booker Rick Purcell, part of his strategy in making the bar/restaurant/bull-riding arena "the place to be" is to provide a variety of music to be heard there.

"We're trying to address all of those smaller music markets locally that aren't being addressed," he said. "There are people here who like every different kind (of music)."

Country-rockers The Casey Donahew Band will play tonight, Purcell said, but Saturday's concert with Saliva with Drowning Pool - both modern-rock bands - will most likely be a sellout.

"It may be the biggest show that we've ever had here," Purcell said.

Saliva, a gold-selling hard-rock band from Memphis, Tenn., made the No. 2 spot on the Billboard's U.S. Mainstream Rock charts with its hit single, "Ladies and Gentlemen."

Graham Central Station, another favorite evening haunt in Odessa, also is loading the spring months with music guests like Brandon Rider, The Eli Young Band and the face of Texas Country, Pat Green.

Nightclub manager Trent Autry said last year's Green concert was packed shoulder-to-shoulder for the show.
"He's a phenomenal performer," he said.

The live entertainment of rising stars or seasoned professionals helps add to the draw of the club, he said.
"It's great it bring in a lot of customers that normally might not come out," Autry said.