Cory Graves
Feel It All Around with Washed Out.
One man's trash is another man's treasure — just like one man's abject terror is another man's Indonesian snake massage.
While having a pile of wild snakes dumped on your nearly-naked body sounds pretty horrifying to us, there are actually a growing number of folks in Asia shelling out roughly $40 for this 90-minute “treatment.”
To each their own, we suppose.
Hopefully, though, no matter your taste (or opinion on snakes) you'll find something suitable happening tonight.
Rihanna at American Airlines Center
For those of you that were excited about watching Rihanna hump the air, grab her crotch and prance around somewhat disinterestedly at the AAC back in April — only to subsequently be just as bummed when the singer cancelled that performance due to illness — we hope you held on to your ticket stubs. We've been informed by LiveNation that tickets for April's show will be honored at tonight's show. Unfortunately, for the attendees that were just as jazzed to catch her opening act at that show — A$AP Rocky — Rihanna's got a different support group on hand for this one. To that end, 2 Chainz and GTA will help get things started. — Cory Graves
Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy, Ginny Mac and Big City Folk at The Where House
In Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy's home state of Kansas, the radical temperance movement leader they named their band after is something of a hero — or anti-hero depending on how you feel about the freedom to drink booze. In the years prior to prohibition, Nation was arrested some 30 times for bull-rushing into bars and destroying them with her trademark hatchet. Although it may seem a bit ironic for these toe-tapping, trombone and washboard featuring bluegrass musicians to have named themselves after a person like Nation, we've personally seen them destroy a bar or two before with their whiskey-driven brand of country. So there. — CG
Washed Out at Granada Theater
More often than not, Washed Out is lumped into the chillwave music, and we suppose that's pretty fair. But the phrase “washed out” really is the best way to describe the dreamy blend of pop production and mildly hip-hop-influenced beats that producer Ernest Greene's Washed Out records are filled with. It's certainly more concise than if Greene had decided to call the project Taking Downers And Laying Out At The Beach. That or That Guy That Wrote The Portlandia Theme, for that matter. — CG
An Evening With Anderson Cooper at UTA's College Park Center
It's never easy to carve out a hugely successful path in the field of journalism — even when your mother is Gloria Vanderbilt. As part of UTA's Mavericks Speakers series, Anderson Cooper will discuss the personal struggles he faced while rising from host of ABC's The Mole to presiding over his own show, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. — CG
K. Michelle at House of Blues
One person who won't argue against the power of reality television: R&B singer K. Michelle, who parlayed a recurring role on VH1's Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta into a starring role on VH1's Love & Hip-Hop: New York and, then, into a record deal with Warner Bros., which released her debut LP, Rebellious Soul back in August. The disc's done well, too, reached as high as No. 2 on the Billboard 200, thanks in large part to the strength of bouncy lead single “V.S.O.P.” Tonight's tour further supports that release, but, interestingly, instead of VH1 presenting the show, it's being presented by BET. Go figure. — Pete Freedman
Code Orange Kids at Sons of Hermann Hall
Pittsburgh's Code Orange Kids are oft-hailed as the future of hardcore. While many signs point to that being the case — a number of outlets called the band's 2012 debut LP one of the best metal/punk/hardcore albums released that year — we don't really want to weigh in on that. We will say, however, that these guys are loud, even for a hardcore band. Pack your earplugs — not that it'll matter much. — CG
The Royal Concept at the House of Blues
Enjoy the music of fun., but worry that band has become too mainstream and that not enough of its songs sound as much like Paul Simon ripoffs as “Some Nights” does? The Royal Concept's been seemingly constructed just for you; lead vocalist David Larson sounds more like Simon than fun.'s Nate Ruess ever could, and, for good measure, Royal Concept single “On Our Way” repeats the phrase “We are young” multiple times in its refrain. Originality, folks. It's a precious commodity. — PF
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
