The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: Blind Pilot, Tacocat, Yes and More

It's Valentine's Day this week, which means one of two things: You're holding out for your significant other to suddenly make some over-the-top romantic gesture so you can post it on social media or you're already preparing your "greeting card companies created this holiday ... blah blah blah" Facebook rant. Or you're completely indifferent, because you're an adult and Valentine's Day technically died when you graduated high school. OK, so maybe it means one of three things. Whichever side of the coin you fall on, there are great shows happening this week to go along with it. Blind Pilot plays the Kessler, Tacocat stops by Three Links and Neil Young Fest has a spectacular line up at Granada Theater on Sunday night.


Juicy J
With Belly and Project Pat, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at House of Blues, 2200 N Lamar St., 214-978-2583 or houseblues.com/dallas, $25 to $65

Juicy J’s tireless work ethic should be the case study of any rapper who thinks he’s entering the twilight of his career. Starting as a founding member of the legendary Triple 6 Mafia in 1991, later known as Three 6 Mafia, Juicy has remained a star in hip-hop for a quarter century off the strength of his OG credentials and ear for young talent. Since breaking away from the Mafia, the Trippy Mane rapper has worked with every big name artist from Lil Wayne to Kanye West to Wiz Khalifa to The Weeknd and co-signed artists such as Mac Miller, Big Sean, Gucci Mane and French Montana early in their careers. And let’s not forget he infamously introduced the world to twerking Miley Cyrus. With that, he’s assembled a hit list of tracks to perform on his busy touring schedule. With longtime collaborator Project Pat on this tour it’s safe to expect a thorough mix of old and new songs from Juicy’s deep-running catalog that should appease his ever-growing fan base. Mikel Galicia


Zoë Keating
8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St., 214-272-8346 or thekessler.org, $20 to $30

Gorgeous and challenging, Zoë Keating’s music lives in liminal spaces. Computer-engineered electronic music, classically measured cello and jazz all have a home in Keating’s compositions, which find a center between academic seriousness and a jaunty sense of play. Keating started classical training in cello at age 8, but ultimately found her way to a heady, improvisatory style all her own by way of crippling stage fright. After receding from classical performance, Keating began experimenting with electronic production, using a laptop to loop and layer her original cello play into lush soundscapes. Having dabbled in everything from synth pop and rock, to avant-garde and turntabalism, Keating’s variegated approach to songwriting is as compelling as it is inquisitive — and consistently interesting. Jonathan Patrick


Devendra Banhart
8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214-824-9933 or granadatheater.com, $30 to $49

Devendra Banhart made a name for himself during the early-mid 2000s Freak Folk explosion. With a leading man countenance and a quirky yet confident demeanor, it took Banhart little time to also become somewhat of a crossover celebrity, as well. His whimsical songs often grace film and television soundtracks, his name features prominently on festival posters, and he sports some A-list fans and acquaintances, such as Beck, James Murphy and Natalie Portman. Out on the road in support of his latest release, Ape in Pink Marble, Banhart has been preaching love, hope and unity, three ideals that have been pushed to the backburner over the past few weeks of political turmoil. Expect a few challenges to be offered forth from the Granada Theater stage on Wednesday night, but also expect inspiration. We can all do better, but Banhart will work his best to ensure that there is still room in the world for art, music and free expression. Jeff Strowe

Adia Victoria
With Jack Kerowax, Bosque Brown, 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, 2704 Elm St., 214-653-8228 or threelinksdeepellum.com, $12

Adia Victoria makes funereal blues steeped in the cultural and social weight of Southern politics and the anxiety that engenders in people of color. Her creaking, haunted ballads are slow to unravel but quick to get under your skin, animated as much by emotional scar tissue as heady cynicism. Inside her dusty, shadowy narratives, religion, alcohol, mourning and emotional intelligence mix, producing something akin to old world storytelling with a distinctly millennial bent. There’s no sulking in Victoria’s music; instead there’s a celebratory, if fatalistic, spirit that drives her songwriting, an optimism made explicit in her flinty voice and bouncy rhythm sections. Music like this has a way of bridging generations — wrestling with fundamental human suffering never goes out of style. Jonathan Patrick


Eisley
7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., houseofblues.com, $15

Eisley is one of those bands that have garnered a pretty loyal following over the past several years but still manage to stay comfortably under the radar. The indie rock band comprising four siblings from Tyler, Texas, earned a Dallas Observer Music Award for Best New Artist in 2003. But they've now released their fifth studio album, I'm Only Dreaming. Diamond Victoria


Tacocat
With Daddy Issues and Dead Words, 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at Three Links, 2704 Elm St., threelinksdeepellum.com, $12/$14

Tacocat can be best described as a combination of punk, indie and riot grrl music. The members address feminist themes with a sound that's catchy and fun. But don't let the band's whimsical style and playful attitude fool you. There's a method to their madness, and it's apparent on their latest album, Lost Time. DV


MXPX
8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., treesdallas.com, $24-$40

This Pacific Northwest trio has been unfairly saddled with the oxymoronic "Christian punk" for more than a decade. Sure, these fine, not-so-young lads don't spew expletives like hard-core legends Black Flag nor do they wallow in sexual depravity like punk godfather Iggy Pop, but MxPx's brand of bracing, emotionally charged punk is both authentic and dynamic. Darryl Smyers


Blind Pilot
8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St., 214-272-8346 or thekessler.org, Sold Out

Portland, Oregon-based pop folk outfit Blind Pilot have come a long way over the past decade. Originally conceived and nurtured as a duo by lead singer Israel Nebeker and drummer Ryan Dobrowski, the band has expanded to a six-piece and moved from playing hastily arranged, self-promoted gigs to headlining celebrated music halls like the Kessler. Much of this notoriety stems from the success garnered by 2011's We Are The Tide, an often rollicking, yet at times hushed affair that conjured the disparate elements of artists like Gillian Welch, the Avett Brothers and the Decemberists. The band's latest release, And Then Like Lions, is a lushly reflective meditation on the swift and uncompromising passage of time. With lyrics that are at times heady and ruminative, the contrasting musical arrangements flow along with ambling grace and charm. It's a formula that has garnered much industry praise and made believers out of many. As Friday's sold-out show indicates, Blind Pilot have fostered a sense of community among their fan base and created a near-perfect setting for singing along and swaying back and forth in time, a drink in one hand and the other intertwined with a loved one. Jeff Strowe

Neil Fest
With Norah Jones, Boz Scaggs, Alison Mosshart and more, 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214-824-9933 or granadatheater.com, $50

There's a monstrous lineup celebrating the music of Neil Young. Headlined by Norah Jones, Boz Scaggs, and the Flatlanders, it's a lineup of 22 acts. Many of them have ties to Austin and North Texas, so it makes sense most of them will be in Austin the previous night. Since Young's music attracts a wide variety of people, from his gentle folk leanings to his glorious plugged-in ragers, there should be some fantastic interpretations of Young's catalog. Though Norah Jones and Boz Scaggs might be the best-known acts, artists like Eric Pulido from Midlake and BNQT, Jeff Klein from My Jerusalem and James Petralli from White Denim are some of the reasons why you should pay attention early into the show. Eric Grubbs

Yes
8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St., 214-670-3687 or dallasculture.org, $35 to $99.75

After playing their 10th studio album Dreams live on stage for the first time ever, the progressive rock maters of Yes will bring the show to Dallas in celebration of their upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band, which has been playing together for nearly half a century, will relive one of Yes’ biggest musical shifts with tracks like “Machine Messiah” and “Into the Lens,” as well as assorted greatest hits and tracks of off 1973’s Tales from Topographic Oceans. Released in 1980, Dreams gave listeners a more aggressive sound, emulating ’80s pop while sticking to their high-pitch prog rock style. Featuring the combined talents of longtime Yes members Steve Howe and Alan White, this show will be a welcome tribute to the legacy of one of the U.K.’s greatest progressive rock bands before their big trip to Cleveland later this April. Nicholas Bostick