Jad Fair, Mandarin, The Theater Fire

"Best show of the week" could be a stretch, but "most interesting show of the week" without question. Jad Fair sat in with the biggest DIY band of the past 25 years, Half Japanese, and made a career out of ignoring the notion that talent is necessary to rock. The band's vigor and love for music made up for all the rough edges, and indie legends like Yo La Tengo, John Zorn and J. Mascis have proven their love of the band by collaborating with Fair over the years. His solo work is just as unapologetic, full of screams, stream-of-consciousness poetry and discordant melodies, which should be damn interesting in concert. Supporting the insanity are Denton's loud-and-moody Mandarin and Fort Worth's dreamy Theater Fire. I once slammed the latter's soft country sound in a live review and have been proven wrong each time I've seen them since.