The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: The Gorehounds, MANÁ, John Mayer and More

Whip out your calendars and put these shows on your schedule. The Jason Bucklin Trio will be bringing the house down at The Balcony Club this Tuesday and will continue to do so with a weekly residency until sometime in December. Then, John Mayer will be dropping into town for a performance at American Airlines Center on Thursday. Before you say farewell to local band Hall Johnson at Three Links on Saturday, get all your anger and aggression out seeing Agent Orange, King Grizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Angels & Airwaves and The Gorehounds. Lastly, cap off your weekend with a free Sevendust show at The Bomb Factory. If you can't make it to these, there are plenty of others to go to. Just don't deprive yourself of live music. Nobody deserves that. Nobody.


Jason Bucklin Trio
9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, at The Balcony Club, 1825 Abrams Road, free

When Jason Bucklin isn’t teaching guitar and bass lessons, like he’s done for most of his life, he’s usually onstage with his jazz trio at The Balcony Club. In teaching guitar and bass over the years, including master classes at the University of North Texas, Bucklin has grown an appreciation and passion for all kinds of music. But jazz was his first love. Bucklin used to play with Café Noir, the Dallas-based sextet, but every Tuesday, at least from now until sometime in December, Bucklin hits The Balcony Club stage with his trio for a night of jazz. And, it’s free. Go see the Jason Bucklin Trio while you still can. Jacob Vaughn

John Mayer
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at American Airlines Center, $59 at ticketmaster.com

After two decades as a musician and over a decade as a commercially successful one, John Mayer no longer feels the need to appeal to the pop music masses. He's done some reflecting over the last few years and decided it was more important for him to do work that he loves and not get caught up in the music industry hype. And as it turns out, Mayer has a lot more to offer than cheesy chart-topping hits. Longtime fans still embrace the crooner's bluesy and exceptional guitar playing, but Mayer has managed to do the unthinkable: he found fans in Deadheads. Yep, after forming the reunion band Dead and Company with three former members of the Grateful Dead, Mayer has welcomed a whole new group of unlikely fans. His latest album came out in 2017, titled The Search for Everything, including this year's solo tour, and he will tour with Dead and Company early next year. Diamond Rodrigue

Agent Orange, The Turbo A.C.’s, Sealion, Kolga
7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at Three Links, 2704 Elm St., $15 at seetickets.us

Surf-punk California power trio Agent Orange is riding a wave into town with the “champagne of surf-guitar-punk” The Turbo A.C.’s for the Dallas stop of the two bands’ fall tour. Agent Orange, originally with Mike Palm on vocals and guitar; Steve Soto playing bass; and Scott Miller on drums, first got attention for a demo version of the song “Bloodstains,” which was included in the band’s 1980 debut EP. The song managed to make it into the hands of a Pasadena radio DJ, Rodney Bingenheimer, who put “Bloodstains” on a compilation album released by Posh Boy Records. The following year, with a new bass player named James Levesque (Soto departed from the band to form the group Adolescence), Agent Orange put out its debut album with Posh Boy, Living in Darkness. The album featured a new version of “Bloodstains,” which later appeared on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4. Since then, the band’s music has been featured on TV shows, movies and other skateboarding games like the original Skate and Evolution Skateboarding. Frontman Mike Palm is the only original member left in the band, now with Perry Giordano on bass and Sandy Hanson on drums. The trio will share the stage at Three Links with The Turbo A.C.’s and local favorites Sealion and Kólga. Jacob Vaughn

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., $15-$55 at ticketfly.com

Australian thrash-rockers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard perpetually live in studios and on the road. With 14 albums in seven years, headline festival appearances around the globe and international critical acclaim, they've certainly made fans of all types. They're also innovators who aren't content letting things get stale. Case in point is their latest album, Infest The Rat's Nest, a gloriously shredded tour de force of metal worship and sonic ferocity. Though a detour from their normally recorded output, this collection of new songs should fit in perfectly alongside those older tunes in their raucous and unpredictable live shows. In fact, it's probably a pretty safe bet that those devoted fans present Friday night at The Bomb Factory will be singing along uproariously to the new "Organ Farmer" and "Planet B" with the same aplomb reserved for prior material. Though the present-day landscape is littered with drops of peril, this band might just be the ones to save us all. Jeff Strowe

Angels & Airwaves, The New Regime, Charming Liars
8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., $38-$62.50 at livenation.com

It’s been more than four years since Blink-182 co-founder Tom DeLonge left the band that made him famous to ponder the stars and search for extraterrestrials. Now it seems as if numerology has entered into the pop-punk rocker’s wheelhouse, and for the first time in seven years, his band, Angels & Airwaves, will once more go on tour. The tour was announced back in April alongside “Rebel Girl,” an early track off the band’s presumably forthcoming album. The track could have easily been a Blink song in another life, but it works remarkably well when paired with the space-age synths and echo-y guitar riffs of Angels & Airwaves. In an interview with NME Magazine DeLonge said there is a film in the works that will accompany the album when both are finished, but in the meantime, the band released another new track at the end of August. “Kiss & Tell” is DeLonge close to his best. With soaring vocals and mind-bending melodic elements, it’s as good a sign as any that Angels & Airwaves is poised for an out-of-this-world comeback. No pun intended. Nicholas Bostick

The Gorehounds
7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at The Double Wide, 3510 Commerce St., $10 at prekindle.com

Two of Dallas’ best cover bands, The Gorehounds and Straight Tequila Night, deliver a one-two punch sure to get fists pumping and celebrants swaying as they help rock-and-ring-in The Double Wide’s 16th anniversary. The Gorehounds, a Cramps tribute band who are every bit as punk, campy and sexy as the legendary "punk and rockabilly meets blues-rock" band they cover. The reason the band’s been nominated for so many Dallas Observer Music Awards for best Cover/Tribute Band is they really conjure the late ‘70s and early ‘80s CBGB vibes of The Cramps. Straight Tequila Night are a ’90s country tribute act who play hit tracks from country radio’s yesteryears. Also on the party’s bill is Atlantis Aquarius’ brand of psychedelic garage rock, and Mike Randall & Jenna Clark, as well as DJs Gabriel Mendoza and Sabrina T on the decks in DW’s main bar. The event’s being promoted with commemorative eye-catching 16th anniversary posters designed by Hunter Moehring, of Sealion, that announce “the return of the mechanical bull!” So, between the bands and the folks bull ridin’ it’s sure to be a memorable bash. Daniel Rodrigue

Hall Johnson, Kyoto Lo-Fi, Delmer Dennis
7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Three Links, 2704 Elm St., $10 at eventbrite.com

This Saturday, local indie-rock band Hall Johnson is saying farewell to Dallas with a show at Three Links. The group formed in Dallas a little over three years ago with Landry French on guitar; Milo Cortese on guitar and vocals; Trevor Stovall on guitar and piano; and Trevor Woods on bass. Later, Logan Krupovage joined Hall Johnson on drums. The band’s 2017 split single “City Lights/Upstate” was put on Spotify’s Release Radar, gaining them about 8,000 monthly streams. Two EPs later, Goalie (2017) and Day Trip (2018), and the band is saying goodbye to DFW. On Aug. 26, the band posted on its Facebook: “Dallas! You have been home to us since we were kids and we are very grateful to grow up in a city that has allowed us to watch the Mavs win an NBA Championship and create a space for us to play our music. But! We must now move to Austin and continue there as we move on to the next chapter.” In the post, the band also said it's excited to play Three Links one last time with local groups Kyoto Lo-Fi and Delmer Dennis before leaving for Austin. Jacob Vaughn

The Bloomers, Cheery Mantis, Chancy
8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Spinster Records, 829 W. Davis St., $5 at door

If you’re looking for a feel-good night surrounded by records, turntables and feel-good live music, one place you can head this Saturday is Spinster Records. The record store will be hosting its Spinster Showcase featuring Canadian alt-rock act The Bloomers, indie pop-rock band Cherry Mantis out of Arlington and Dallas alt-rock group Chancy (although they prefer to be described as an arcane and eclectic mix of chaotic, atmospheric and retro-modern soundscapes). The show’s only $5, and you can bring your own booze. You won’t want to miss it. The next Spinster Showcase later this month will feature Henry the Archer, Fever Beam and Crooked Bones. Jacob Vaughn

MANÁ
8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at American Airlines Center, $30 at ticketmaster.com

Often regarded as one of the most successful Latin American bands of all time, Mexican pop-rock group Maná kicked off its Rayando El Sol Tour in Laredo on Aug. 31. The tour, named after the band’s 1989 hit single, has them making several stops in Texas, Arizona and California. Earlier in August, the historically politically outspoken band told CNN they hope their 22-city tour will help bring joy to communities affected by the mass shooting in El Paso and the recent ICE raids that led to arrests of hundreds of immigrants. The band also told CNN that if people want to change the current culture, they need to head to the polls in 2020. Maná’s show this weekend at American Airlines Center is the fourth stop on the tour and the last one before they play El Paso. Jacob Vaughn

Sevendust
6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, at The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., free

In the over two decades since the band’s debut, Sevendust has released 12 albums, been nominated for a Grammy, sold millions of records and performed all over the world. On Sunday, they’ll be playing for Dallasites at The Bomb Factory for free. Compared with the ticket prices of one of Sevendust's last Dallas shows (about $45), their show this weekend is a steal. You're basically robbing this band if you go to their show Sunday. But that's OK. They won't have to entertain you the whole time. Local metal bands DownLo, Even The Dead Love A Parade and Crankfish will be hopping on the bill too to help melt your face off at The Bomb Factory. Jacob Vaughn