Hello again, all! So, what you may not know is that each week I try to decide which picture of which band should go at the top of this weekly blog post. This week I settled on Guns N' Roses, since their fans span several generations; even though the tickets to their show this week are so totally out of most people's price ranges. (They start at $135. Ridiculous.)
Scroll down to see who the other contenders were.
Guns N' Roses Wednesday, May 29, at House of Blues, $135-$155 Running through a jungle with a crazed redhead whom people refer to as "Mr. Brownstone" screaming "Welcome to the jungle; we've got fun and games" wouldn't seem like a way to spend your Wednesday night. But when the crazed redhead is Axl Rose crooning classics like "Welcome to the Jungle," "It's So Easy" and "November Rain," how could you not succumb to his madness for a night? Guns N' Roses are an iconic '80s rock band, but you knew that. "Sweet Child O' Mine" is arguably one of the greatest rock ballads to grace MTV's airwaves, and "Patience" has dominated many late-night backyard bonfire parties in my North Texas hometown for more than a decade. Although Guns -- Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler -- have long since left the band, Rose will be bringing a shadow of his former band to Dallas. Tickets are pricey, ranging from $135 for general admission to $175 for "platinum" seating. But the 51-year-old iconic singer will be belting classics, making ladies swoon with his charm and swinging scarves like a madman. It should be one helluva memorable night. -- Christian McPhate
Robert Gomez, Jeremy Buller Thursday, May 23, at Dan's Silverleaf, $7 To say that multi-instrumentalist Robert Gomez was a busybody in 2012 is an understatement: The man was a machine. You can read all about that right here. Gomez just finished up an improvised weekly residency at Dan's Silverleaf called "The Green Hour" and is now being spotted on a few bills here and there around DFW, including this week's show with Jeremy Buller, whose newfangled solo project is turning heads; and who has been involved in bands such as Bosque Brown, Comrade, The Hope Trust and Coves. He and his solo tracks were also just listed on New Media Recordings' website as one of their "featured" artists, along with some kind words. Head to Dan's to see what all of the fuss is about. -- Rachel Watts
Black Flag, Good For You, Mind Spiders Friday, May 24, at Trees, $25-$30 Black Flag are one of the most respected punk bands of the last 40 years, thanks partly to their confrontational and anti-authority stage presence. Seen as a forerunner for hardcore, skate and anarchistic cultures, Black Flag come to town sporting one original member, founder Greg Ginn. But if you planned on coming thinking Henry Rollins will be there, you haven't been keeping up. It's been 28 years since 1985's "In My Head," but Black Flag released a new single, "Done in the Dirt," this month on their website and plan on releasing a new studio album this year. But none of that really fucking matters, because they could come in playing Spice Girls covers and it would still be worth the price of admission. Respect your elders. -- Lee Escobedo
Datahowler, Sealion, War Party Friday, May 24, at Three Links, $7/$10 If you're into electro, garage, surf or punk rock, there's no better local bill to see this weekend than the trifecta that is Datahowler, Sealion and Fort Worth's War Party (who boast an exceedingly punk rock trombone player). The one-man band -- percussive and synth-clad Ross Edman -- is Datahowler, who is releasing his next big electronic creation, alongside the boys in Sealion, who are also releasing Kenneth, a sophomore follow-up to their 2011 debut LP. It's a dual CD release show, where War Party will no doubt get the party started. -- Rachel Watts
White Ghost Shivers, Bobby Patterson, John Singer Sergeant Saturday, May 25, at The Kessler Theater, $25 John Singer Sargeant has proven his talent again and again working with musicians here and around the country, so he was ready for the challenge when the tables were turned for his recently-released album, featuring collaborations with the likes of Sarah Jaffe and Chris Walla. --Kiernan Maletsky
The Black Angels Saturday, May 25, at Granada Theater, $20-$35 There's been an absolute resurgence of psychedelic music over the past few years. It's not as though it ever left, but it's jumping from the tongues of quite a few garage singers these days. Austin's The Black Angels deserve much of the credit for the psychedelic renaissance we're witnessing. Together almost a decade and led by vocalist Alex Maas and the multi-talented guitarist Christian Bland -- who also creates the lion's share of the group's album and poster art -- these are the guys that backed Lone Star psych legend Roky Erickson as he returned from an almost non-returnable point of mental illness to regain his status as a rightfully respected elder statesman of Texas artists in 2008. The Black Angels have also hosted the ever-growing Austin Psych Fest for the past six years. More than simply headliners of the annual show, the band basically hand-picks the acts on each year's tremendous bill. If there's a festival that boasts more mind-bending, cochlea-altering talent than this one, we've yet to hear about it. Oh, and each of the group's stellar last three albums, including the brand-new Indigo Meadow, is the stuff black-lit dreams are made of. -- Kelly Dearmore Big Boi, Tyler, The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Zeds Dead, RL Grime and G-Eazy Saturday, May 25, at The Palladium Ballroom The most famous and most talented members of Odd Future, respectively, and a man who belongs on a very short list of the greatest Southern rappers come to The Palladium as part of the Jambalaya Festival mini-tour. You don't really need our help on this one, do you? (KM)
Air Review, Dark Rooms, Great Big Beluga Sunday, May 26, at The Where House, $10 This awesome 10-dollar lineup is the most expensive show I've seen listed at Fort Worth's fabulously artsy, DIY music venue The Where House. That's the beauty of it. Bands like folk-pop group Air Review, who first picked up steam in 2009, and has since opened for heavy-hitters like Flaming Lips, Portugal. The Man, Grimes and School of Seven Bells, are featured alongside fresh local talent with an entry fee of almost next to nothing. They released their newest effort, Low Wishes, back in January, so check it out and swing by The Where House if you're in the "Near South Side" part of Cowtown this weekend. -- Rachel Watts
Flobots, Wheelchair Sports Camp, Super Water Sympathy Tuesday, May 28, at The Prophet Bar, $20 You know about Flobots; Wheelchair Sports Camp are why you should go to this one no matter what. It's a trio featuring rapper Kayln Heffernan and two of her college friends, who sing and provide live instrumentation. They are not like anything you've ever seen, I can assure you. (KM)
Bosnian Rainbows, Zorch Tuesday, May 28, at Trees, $15/$18 The breakup of The Mars Volta happened so far under the radar that it was almost ninja-like. A brief announcement of a hiatus was followed four months later by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez calling time on the musical project he had created in 2001 with Cedric Bixler-Zavala after the dissolution of their famed hardcore band At The Drive-In. Claiming a band was "something I haven't been in for over 11 years" after his more dictatorial approach to writing all the parts and doing all the production on all The Mars Volta's records, Rodriguez-Lopez took the last in a very long line of excellent TMV drummers, Deantoni Parks, grabbed Teri Gender Bender from Le Butcherettes and seemingly created new music almost immediately. That's just a testament to his relentless productivity. Bosnian Rainbows, as this new project is called, have their debut album out June 28, but you can catch a preview of it on their first U.S. tour, which is stopping at Trees. The new songs feature not only easily understandable titles (it's the end for Bixler-Zavala's twisted syllables) but an undoubtedly greater dispensation toward pop and catchy hooks. Gone are the extraordinary experimental fireworks and liquid fingers of TMV-era Rodriguez-Lopez, to be replaced with a more instantly accessible sound. Is that for the best? I guess you'll have to head to Trees to find out. -- Gavin Cleaver
Total Control, UV Race, Parquet Courts, Infernoh, Effluxus, Vaginors, Strange Factory, The Novice Wednesday, May 29, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, $10-$27 The Savage brothers, now of Parquet Courts, spent some time in Denton bands before moving to New York. Local connections aside, this underground punk act has received its fair share of critical acclaim since they put out their cassette debut American Specialties in 2011. This was followed by a limited LP self-release of Light Up Gold on Savage's own label and then re-released on the What's Your Rapture? label. The band has seen extreme media coverage post-SXSW, during which their mix of brash punk and intelligent lyrics has been highly praised. Make sure you secure bragging rights by catching the group fresh off a European tour at Rubber Gloves in Denton. -- Jaime-Paul Falcon
