Happy Thanksgiving. One thing to be thankful for is the opportunities for shows this week. The 1975 does South Side Ballroom. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony give Trees some thuggish, ruggish bone. Living THC molecule Devin the Dude plays the Granada Theater with the Outfit, TX opening. Erykah Badu heads home and hits The Prophet Bar on Thanksgiving Eve. FKA Twigs gives Trees a full sampling of her modern take on R&B. And last, but not least, Crown & Harp celebrates their 18th better than any of you ever did. Your picks now follow.
See also: Watch Erykah Badu Crash a TV News Telecast to Kiss Reporter Crown & Harp Looks to Class Things Up with a New Renovation
The 1975 With Cruiser and Young Rising Sons, 8 p.m., Monday, November 24, at South Side Ballroom, 1135 S Lamar St., 214-421-2021, $42 The 1975, formerly known as Talkhouse (and Drive Like I Do, and Slowdown, and Bigsleep) once had pop punk in mind when it came to the creation of their music. Those ambitions subsided and they saw the greener pastures of dropping the punk for a veneer of less grit and cleaner production. The English band's self-titled debut album dropped last year with a favorable reception to their amalgams of R&B, power pop, and indie rock n roll. Though The 1975 is absolutely a band that makes music that makes music that leans more towards pop than anything else, they're refreshing and laudable for crafting a sound that doesn't sound like much else out at the moment. Not many band's have that flare on their sleeve. H. Drew Blackburn
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony With Mac Lethal, Almost Kins, T$ and AV the Great, 8 p.m., Tuesday, November 25, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., 214-741-1122 or treesdallas.com, $35-$104 The Bones are back in town. Bizzy, Layzie, Krayzie, Flesh; the Thugs are all here. What will "Thuggish Ruggish Bone" sound like two decades later? Something called MTV deemed them "The most melodic hip-hop group of all-time" and this could be your last chance to see them. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will release their final album in 2015. But there will only be one copy of it and it will go to the highest bidder at an auction. Bidding starts at $1 million if you are interested. But this seems like a lose-lose situation. We know that shit's going to get leaked. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will be disappointed if they only want one copy of that album in circulation. As a bidder, I would have to consider that any bragging rights about having the only copy of a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony album would quickly dissipate when it leaks. I would also have to consider how good the album is if Bone Thugs only want one copy in the world. But maybe you could get them to sign it. Joking aside, recent shows are getting very favorable reviews and the talent onstage is unquestionable. Go to Trees on a Tuesday, give Bone Thugs praise and honor the memory of Eazy-E. Jeremy Hallock
Erykah Badu With RC & the Grtiz and DJ Jay Clipp, 9 p.m. Wednesday, November 26, at The Prophet Bar, 2548 Elm St., 214.742.3667 or theprophetbar.com, $37 Erykah Badu is a prototype of artistic versatility. She is a mother, a builder, a scuplter, a painter, an activist, a seamstress, a designer, a musician; Badu is an artist. Her art form procreates the type of musical sensibilities that gives rise to intellectual thinking, esoteric sound vibrations, and a vibe so raw that her Grammy winning 1997 release Baduizm still manages to sound like a fresh perspective. This millennium has seen a slew of genre-blending works including Mama's Gun (2000), Worldwide Underground (2003), New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) and New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (2010). But more than "The First Lady of Neo Soul," Badu is also a delightfully fun local music icon, ubiquitous for her trademark hats and periodically gaming the internet, be it trying to kiss a news anchor or busking in Manhattan. In collaboration with The Prophet Bar's long-running weekly Wednesday jam session held by R.C. Williams and The Gritz, the South Dallas queen will perform live in concert at the Jam's eighth anniversary party alongside DJ Jay Clipp and RC & The Gritz. Head over to The Prophet Bar to grab your dose of an appetizing pre-holiday jam mix. Morganne Cameron
Smackdown Karaoke and Thanksgiving Potluck 8 p.m., at Thursday, November 27, Double Wide, 3510 Commerce St., www.double-wide.com, This is Thanksgiving and the day of the year when the feelings towards your family take sudden hard rights, making you question if you're truly related to these people only seconds after being so thankful you have them in your life. Here's your chance to step away from your crazy uncle who's screaming about Communism and sing some karaoke at Double Wide, where they're also having a potluck. Double Wide is something to truly be thankful for this year. HDB
Blue October With 8 p.m., Friday, November 28, at House of Blues, 2200 N Lamar St., 214-978-2583 or houseofblues.com/dallas, $48-$81 Alternative rock band Blue October is a big deal, such a big deal that they'll play two shows at the House of Blues this week. The band began their career in Houston in the mid 90s. After their independently released debut album, The Answers, was released in 1998 they caught the eye of Universal records. Since then, the band has supplied fans with a stream of somber rock tunes to be melancholy to. Check out one of their two shows, and be forewarned that this isn't the English synthpop band of the same exact name. In that case, you'd probably show up disappointed, and maybe leave pleased. HDB
FKA Twigs With, 8 p.m. Friday, November 28, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., 214-741-1122 or treesdallas.com, $20 Whether you think she's the next art-pop game-changer or simply a trip-hop vestige, FKA Twigs is one of the most-discussed artists of the year. Twigs followed 2013's breakout EP2 with the proper full-length LP1 earlier this year, and it's streaked with all the aesthetic indulgences and experimental prodding of a genuine auteur in the making. Her art sees future meet tradition as technology clashes with the warmth of organic song craft: One minute the music's reduced to rubbery threads and mechanical clicks, the next she slathers the mix with R&B rhythms and soaring vocal melodies. There's a pungent waft of theater to the way Twigs moves through her music, her soul-on-the-sleeve compulsions slyly hidden beneath a spectrum of shuffling masks. The rangy, acrobatic maneuvering of her voice adds additional layers to this sense of drama. As accessible as it is subtly dark, Twig's music is among the finest of year, as are her gracefully surreal stage productions. Jonathan Patrick
Hunter Hayes With Dan + Shay and The Railers, 8 p.m., Saturday, Novemeber 29, Verizon Theatre, 1001 Performance Place Grand Prairie, TX, 972-854-5111, http://www.verizontheatre.com, $58-$296 Hunter Hayes is a young and blonde country music star who plays an acoustic guitar. Basically, the dude version of Taylor Swift before she "went pop." His crowning achievement at the moment might be a crown over at the Guinness Book of Records for multiple concerts played in different cities in the time span of 24 hrs, a record previously held by The Flaming Lips. His sophmore album Storyline debuted at number one on the country Billboard charts. So, maybe he doesn't have as much star power as good ole Taylor, but he's certainly got the whole acoustic-country-pop thing down and is bringing it to Grand Prairie for your entertainment. HDB
Devin the Dude With The Outfit, TX, 7 p.m., Saturday, November 29, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX, 214-824-9933, http://www.granadatheater.com, $20-$22 Devin the Dude is somewhat of a stoner rap pioneer. The Houston dwelling emcee has given us the depressing jam from the heavens of Stonerville, "Doobie Ashtray," which was produced by the one and only DJ Premier. He's also responsible for the brilliant collabo with Snoop Dogg (eh) and Andre 3000, "What A Job." He began his career at Houston's legendary Rap-A-Lot Records working with Scarface and the like and has since sat comfortably in the underground scene. If you're into stoner rappers, he's pretty much the zenith, who will one day pass the torch to Curren$y, of lovable and affable pothead rapper. Well, not torch, perhaps joint. HDB
106.1 Kiss FM'S Jingle Ball featuring Jason Derulo, Fall Out Boy, MAGIC!, Jeremih, Echosmith, Nick Jonas, Meghan Trainor, and Jake Miller 4 pm, Sunday, November 30, at the Verizon Theatre, 1001 Performance Place Grand Prairie, 972-854-5111, $27.50 - $157.50 Jay Z once immortally declared, "Got beef with radio if I don't play the show/They don't play my hits, well I don't give a shit, so." Unlike the Jigga Man, all the artists appearing at the Verizon Theatre for Kiss FM's Jingle Ball give a shit if radio plays their hits, because they desperately need radio to make their hackneyed careers a thing. The radio waves are populated with pop trash that exists solely because some executive at Warner Bros. went over a chart of what sounds work, and assigned them to whatever music bot was readily available."Let's do Rilo Kiley, and Metric, but like 500 times worse!" says the person who came up with Echosmith. "311, but without the weed references and like 10 percent more HPV!" says the person who came up with Magic! "A really untalented version of Usher!" says Jason Derulo's mom. "Amy Winehouse's production, but with a worse voice!" says Meghan Trainor's manager. And the all time best: "Blink 182's darker songs, but without any wit, or musical talent," says Pete Wentz. And they repeat ad-nauseam every few years so that the pop-music money train never stops, and it will never stop, because there's always a new face to push. Oh, and where the fuck does Nick Jonas get off thinking he's Justin Timberlake? Jaime-Paul Falcon
Sunday November 30th "18 Year Anniversary Party" hosted by Slim Gravy, with Daniel Hart (solo set)/Dark Rooms, Dead Mockingbirds, The Chloes, Jenny Robinson, Blue, The Misfit, -topic, Buffalo Black and more, 12 p.m., Sunday, November 30, at Crown and Harp, 1914 Greenville Ave, Free Congrats, Crown and Harp, you can now buy cigarettes, which isn't suggested, but it's your life man, do what you do. You can vote. You can get a tattoo. You can buy a lottery ticket and never win anything more than 20 bucks. You can legally do the sex anywhere in the U.S. Sadly, you can't even celebrate your own party, which has a stacked bill of some of Dallas' best artist spanning rock, rap and electronica. If only you were 21, right? Sucks to suck. The rest of us that are 21 and over, it would behoove us head on down for this week's most enticing party. HDB
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