The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: The Raconteurs, Toadies, Jason Aldean and More

Cold fronts blowing into Dallas may bring some rain in the next few days, so you'd better know where to go to stay dry and keep warm. These shows can help you do just that. Jack White is gracing Dallasites with his presence with The Raconteurs this Monday at South Side Ballroom. Industrial duo ManifestiV will be hitting the stage at O'Riley's — one of DFW's most underrated underground music venues — on Friday. On the same night, the Toadies will be whipping up something good back at South Side Ballroom. As usual, you can always go see some local staples of the music scene for free: Paul Slavens & Friends in Denton on Monday, Free Loaders at The Free Man on Tuesday or the Revelers Hall Band on Saturday or Sunday. There's plenty of shows to choose from, so don't stay in just because of the weather.


The Raconteurs with Hunt Sales
7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, at South Side Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar St., $58 at livenation.com

At least professionally, it's been a little over a year since Jack White graced Dallas with his presence. His April 2018 performance at The Bomb Factory was a powerhouse evening of music that showcased all the wacky bombast, creative meanderings and snarling guitar hysterics that his shows have been known for since his breakup of The White Stripes. Personally, White's involvement with the Deep Ellum-based Warstic baseball bat company makes it plausible that he may have slipped through town a time or two for those business purposes. Regardless, he's back this week with The Raconteurs, his classic-rock-leaning outfit that includes good pals Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler. The quartet recently returned from a decade of dormancy with Help Us Stranger, a long-awaited, new power-packed album that has earned rave reviews and restored the flame to the rock 'n' roll torch. Shake your Monday blues by watching them play these new hits and some of their mid-aughts gems from the stage of South Side Ballroom. Jeff Strowe


Paul Slavens & Friends
9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, at Dan's Silverleaf, 103 Industrial St., Denton, free

Like on most Mondays, the spontaneous song generator, DJ and Ten Hands frontman Paul Slavens will take the stage at Dan’s Silverleaf. Slavens writes and performs songs on the spot, improvising about whatever comes to mind. Song title suggestions get thrown at him from the crowd and he just runs with them. Attendees might hear songs about escaping the spiraling vortex of Ikea, robot children or whatever else they can think of. If this isn’t part of your Monday music routine by now, it should be. Jacob Vaughn

Jason Bucklin Trio
9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, 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 on stage with his jazz trio at The Balcony Club. In teaching guitar and bass, 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

The Free Loaders
7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, at The Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge, 2626-2630 Commerce St., free

If a movie was made about The Free Man, a Deep Ellum Cajun restaurant and live music venue, the soundtrack would consist of songs by one band: The Free Loaders. Luckily, a three-piece variation of the band plays at the venue every Tuesday, so there, you don’t have to wait for the movie to come out to hear its killer soundtrack. Just hop over to The Free Man on a Tuesday evening, order a po' boy and listen to frontman and venue owner John Jay Myers slam on his drums and bark into the microphone with keys and stand-up bass behind him. Jacob Vaughn

ManifestiV
7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at O'Riley's, 8989 Forest Lane, $10 at door

Dallas' favorite industrial duo of real-life morticians will be taking the stage Friday night at O'Riley's Billiards, Food & Bar. An often underappreciated underground music venue that has maintained a solid presence off the beaten trail of Dallas' musical epicenter for years, O’Rileys has recently been reviving the Dallas industrial night trend that went on throughout the 2000s. In their first show at the venue, ManifestiV will be joined by drummer Ryan Scherschell from Dallas hard rock band Secret of Boris in a show alongside fellow local industrial acts Circle Burn, Bloodied and Koppur Thief. The addition of Scherschell will help bring the industrial songs created by EvE's self-made, electric vibraphone and the down-tuned guitar of Paragraph Taylor further to life. If you have not had a chance to catch ManifestiV's intensely visual and highly danceable performance yet, now is the time. This could possibly be the band's last show of the year before they return to the studio to write and create full time again. David Fletcher

Toadies
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at South Side Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar St., $35 at livenation.com

The Toadies certainly moved on and up from the clubs and stages of their native Fort Worth years ago. But around here, they're still considered a local band. The four-piece alt-garage rock band tasted their first bit of fame 25 years ago with the release of the platinum-selling album Rubberneck, birthing the single "Possum Kingdom," which stayed at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Songs Chart for 49 weeks. These days, the band is working on its eighth studio album and has welcomed the help of legendary grunge and punk rock producer Steve Albini, a "bucket list" producer, according to the band. This fall, the Toadies are on a small, five-show tour spanning the state from the Panhandle to the Gulf beaches, celebrating Rubberneck's anniversary. Diamond Rodrigue

Geezerpalooza
Noon Saturday, Oct. 12, at Industrial Street Pop Festival, 103 Industrial St., Denton, free

To call the Industrial Street Pop Festival an event that’s fun for all ages may seem cliché, but the free event, affectionately dubbed Geezerpalooza, truly draws several generations of live music fans. Since 2012, Geezerpalooza has taken over Denton’s Industrial Street entertainment district for an annual free celebration of the music of the ’60s and ’70s — specifically, artists who took the stage at the International Pop Festival in ’69, which Denton County just celebrated with a 50th anniversary. And 2019’s lineup, curated by Dan Mojica of Dan’s Silverleaf, features bands playing lively tributes to Santana, Janis Joplin, The Allman Brothers, Sam & Dave, Freddie King, B.B. King, and Sly and the Family Stone. (Side note: It's worth noting that frontman, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone was born in Denton.) While admission is free, cash donations are encouraged to benefit Our Daily Bread and the Monsignor King Outreach Center. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs; with Industrial Street closed, attendees and vendors will spread out between Hickory and Mulberry streets. Hippie wear and tie-dye not discouraged. Daniel Rodrigue

Jason Aldean
4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, Globe Life Park, 1000 Ballpark Way, Arlington, $30 at ticketmaster.com

As one of country’s biggest voices, Jason Aldean stretches the genre in unexpected directions. Atop typical country music trappings — meat and potatoes lyrics, emotive guitar, accented vocals — Aldean adds threads of soul, alternative rock, R&B, hip-hop and world music. Power ballads meet clever fusion in Aldean's tunes, which seem engineered for big, euphoric stadium performances. Aldean might flirt with comparatively radical ideas in his arrangements, but his music never fails to feel genuinely part of country music’s rich and storied tradition. Jonathan Patrick

The Beaches with Ruff Wizard
10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., $12 at prekindle.com

The Beaches are essentially Canada’s rock ‘n’ roll answer to the Dixie Chicks, with a smidge less political perturbance and a few more cocktails. Or, Alanis Morissette meets the Ramones. Composed of the sisters Miller, Jordan and Kylie, as well as Leandra Earl and Eliza Enman McDaniel, the fan-favorite band is named after the quaintly bougie Canadian neighborhood three-quarters of the band grew up in. The Beaches have become one the best non-ironic rock groups to hit today’s musical mainstream after their first single off their debut album, Late Show, hit the No. 1 spot of the Billboard Rock Chart and even opened for The Rolling Stones on their stop in Canada earlier this year. However, the band’s latest EP, The Professional, showcases a notable step forward in the band’s overall tone and sound, though not necessarily their theme — whereas the aforementioned track “Money” off their debut album is a hard-driving rock anthem about keeping track of your ducats. The Beaches’ latest single, “Snake Tongue,” has an opening reminiscent of The Nails (look it up) and a slower build to a smoother choral crescendo, putting the track more into U2 territory by the end. For further listening check out “Fascination” and go to the show. Nicholas Bostick

Revelers Hall Band
2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13, at Revelers Hall, 412 N. Bishop Ave., free

Every Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., the Revelers Hall Band makes a not-so-subtle stop at their home venue. The six-piece brass band packs a punch that is near impossible to stand still against. The band embodies what Revelers Hall co-owner Jason Roberts and music director Kevin Butler want to get out of all the performers at the venue. It's acoustic, and they play real pianos and upright basses, instead of electric. Even if the power goes out, the Revelers Hall Band will keep the show going. The band can also be heard accompanying other acts booked at the venue throughout the week. Jacob Vaughn