Stephen Young
Look Into The Futurebirds.
Today is the Major League Baseball's trade deadline and, for fans of the sport, it can be one of the weirdest days of the year.
Whether your team is totally out of it or trying to add pieces for a run at the pennant, you never know exactly what it their roster will look like at the end of the day.
All this uncertainty got the staff here at Central Track thinking: What if every industry was governed by a baseball-style collective bargaining agreement rather that federal labor laws? What if, for instance, you woke up ready to head to your job at AT&T, only to get a call from your boss informing you you'd been traded to 7-Eleven for two shift managers and a Slurpee machine to be named later?
We imagine you'd be pretty upset. We sure would be.
We don't know about you, but we figure we're worth at least two Slurpee machines and a roller grill.
Matchbox 20 , Goo Goo Dolls at Gexa Energy Pavilion
Um. What is there to say about this one? Let's see. On the one hand, we wonder what would have happened to a band like the Goo Goos if they had never changed their name from the Sex Maggots. Would “Slide” still have been as popular a couple of decades ago if the band hadn't rebranded itself? As for Matchbox 20, well, the less we say about them the better. I mean, the simple fact that Rob Thomas was responsible for starting Carlos Santana on the slippery slope to adult contemporary irrelevance with “Smooth” is unforgivable. — Stephen Young
Futurebirds at Dada
Futurebirds hails from the musical hotbed of Athens, Georgia, a college town that has incubated acts like R.E.M., the B-52s and the Drive-by Truckers. That's not to say the band is reminiscent of any of those acts, though. Instead, Futurebirds sounds utterly unique, featuring a potent mix of psychedelia, alt-country and folk. The always raucous Diarrhea Planet opens. — SY
Bushwick Bill at Double Wide
The fact that Bushwick Bill is both alive and free is nothing short of remarkable. The Geto Boys emcee has been shot in the eye in still unclear circumstances (and subsequently had his wounded face celebrated on an album cover), convicted of at least three felonies and been nearly deported to his birthplace, Jamaica. He's persevered through it all, though, becoming a born-again Christian and, in perhaps an even more unlikely turn of events, he reunited with the Boys for a few shows in 2012 and 2013. He's flying solo at this show, but you can still expect to hear “Mind Playing Tricks on Me,” which is reason enough to head over to the Double Wide tonight. — SY
Seth Sherman, Frank Smith, The Satans of Soft Rock at Rubber Gloves
Seth Sherman brings his distinctive jangly folk to Denton for show featuring Austin's Frank Smith and Denton's Tony Ferraro-led Satans of Soft Rock project. Expect all the slightly off-center, more than slightly loud, alt-folk you can handle at this one. — SY
The Local Motif at Quixotic World
It's ladies night at this new monthly hip-hop series in town, which pops off every last Wednesday of the month. No fewer than seven of the city's finest female emcees will take the stage at this one, including intriguing upstart Jenny Robinson, the soulful Alsace Carcione and Brain Gang's new fire-spitter, Sam Lao. — Pete Freedman
