alt-J With San Fermin South Side Ballroom, Dallas Monday, October 5, 2015 The appeal of alt-J’s music has always seemed a little mystifying. They may have one the Mercury Prize with their very first album, but their take on vocal harmonies and metering is a little odd, and their lack…
Brand New With Manchester Orchestra The Bomb Factory, Dallas Saturday, October 3, 2015 Brand New is a band that lives with many reputations. To the die hard fans, they’re known as being a frustratingly reclusive bunch who has shied away from releasing new music for nearly six years now and…
Thanks to the grace of trickle-down festival economics, this week is absolutely stacked with bands coasting off the momentum of Austin City Limits Fest and passing through Dallas. And let’s face it, unless you’re independently wealthy and capable of buying a VIP festival ticket with some sort of personal bathroom and…
The Decemberists With Olivia Chaney Majestic Theatre, Dallas Friday, October 2, 2015 There were four phases to the Decemberists’ sold-out, two-hour set at Majestic Theatre on Friday night. The first part was a Colin Meloy solo set, then a lengthy portion of straightforward full-band material, then a full-on prog rock…
Neon Indian With the Outfit, TX and Roger Sellers The Bomb Factory, Dallas Thursday, October 1, 2015 If a little time was all Alan Palomo and the newest incarnation of Neon Indian needed to execute last night’s performance at The Bomb Factory, then so be it. From the get go,…
Oaktopia Fest With Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Minus the Bear, Polyphonic Spree and more Downtown Denton Friday to Sunday, September 25 to 27, 2015 Oaktopia Fest has been quickly gaining traction since its debut in 2013. The three-day music/arts/beard festival centered around Denton’s town square has reached its…
Ratatat Bomb Factory, Dallas Friday, September 25, 2015 Two guitars, two keyboards, two toms, and an armada of lasers; these were Ratatat’s weapons of choice at The Bomb Factory Friday night as they played to a packed house. The Brooklyn-based duo of Mike Stroud and Evan Mast have been at…
Fall festival season is getting into full swing in Texas, but while Denton’s Oaktopia Fest has just come and gone the biggest, most obvious one this week (and the week after) is down in Austin. Of course, we can think of plenty of reasons to not feel the need to…
Hall & Oates Majestic Theatre, Dallas Friday, September 25, 2015 Before Daryl Hall, John Oates and six backing musicians took the Majestic Theatre stage on Friday night, it was occupied by spokesmen for CitySquare, a nonprofit devoted to fighting poverty that annually sponsors “A Night to Remember.” With a heartstrings-tugging…
Van Halen With Kenny Wayne Shepherd Wednesday, September 23, 2015 In the middle of a 10-minute-long “How to Dance Like David Lee Roth” monologue Wednesday night at Gexa Energy Pavilion, David Lee Roth got serious for a minute. Sort of. Having walked the crowd through his James Brown and stair…
Nick Jonas House of Blues, Dallas Wednesday, September 23, 2015 If Nick Jonas was ever the dopey boy behind the guitar standing on stage with his two brothers, he has now escaped that boy band hell and become a solo pop act. And successfully, we might add. On Wednesday night,…
Garth Brooks has been having a hell of a busy week. Over the course of the past four nights, the Oklahoma native has played six concerts here in Dallas. (Simple math indicates that, yes, six is more than four, which means a lot.) And he’s not done yet: While he…
Titus Andronicus With Spider Bags and Baked Trees, Dallas Friday, September 18, 2015 Despite two previous tours which both stopped in Dallas, New Jersey sextet Titus Andronicus seem to have been unable to convince Dallas audiences of their relevance, as evidenced by a rather disappointing turnout on Friday night at…
Garth Brooks American Airlines Center, Dallas Thursday, September 17, 2015 Twenty years of building anticipation is generally a recipe for a pretty electric evening, especially when you’re talking about one of country music’s most talented entertainers. After nearly that long away from Dallas, Garth Brooks’ week-long slate of concerts has…
Cultura Dura Block Party Deep Ellum, Dallas Saturday, September 12, 2015 As the old saying goes, if a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? If you eat lunch, but don’t share your meal on Instagram, did you ever really eat? And if Brooklyn based Latino blog…
Something important happened last night that had everyone in Dallas crowded around their TVs. Was it the Miss America pageant, maybe? Hmm. Probably nothing to do with sports, right? Well, either way, you’ll probably be hard pressed to find anyone at home the rest of the week given the ridiculous…
Dia De Los Toadies With the Toadies, Sarah Jaffe, Burden Brothers, Buck Pets and more Panther Island Pavilion, Fort Worth Friday and Saturday, September 11 and 12, 2015 The scene near downtown Fort Worth on Saturday night was a mixture of old-blooded nostalgia and young-blooded energy, combining together to form…
Chris Brown With Tyga, Kid Ink, Omarion, Tenaya Taylor and Fetty Wap Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Thursday, September 10, 2015 Six years after the fact, the mention of Chris Brown’s name will most likely always conjure up memories of his 2009 assault of then girlfriend, pop superstar Rihanna. The memory…
Do you hear that? It’s music — music coming from Austin and heading here to North Texas, meaning we don’t have to go to Austin. We’re about to be in the midst of festival season in Texas, which means Dallas will be the fall bounty known as festival spillover acts…
Hank Williams Jr. Verizon Theatre, Grand Prairie Saturday, September 5, 2015 Hank Williams, Jr. played at Verizon Theatre on Saturday night, but aside from the smart-phone users in the audience and the unexceptional lights show, the whole episode was straight out of a decades-old memory. Some anachronisms are expected, even…
Another holiday has come and gone, and what do we have to show for it? If you did Labor Day right, probably some sunburn, a hangover and a healthy dose of guilt over some unhealthy overeating. Fortunately, you can do something feel a little better about yourself (although probably not…
Kelly Clarkson With Pentatonix Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Sunday, August 30, 2015 Kelly Clarkson has really come out of her shell. Since her win on the first season of American Idol nearly 15 years ago, she’s established herself as one of the most powerful vocalists in the business. If you remember…
