Central Track Staff
Make It a Blockbuster Night.
What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you? Better yet, how much more embarrassing would that situation have been had some reality TV folks gotten wind of it and blown up your spot?
Jim Harris, for instance, thought he'd lived down that 2010 call to 911 in which he told dispatchers he thought “a fucking buffalo” fell on him. And now that call is all over the internet, thanks to a new TV show called Outrageous 911.
Oh well, shit happens. And at the same time you can't let the minor fear of embarrassment dictate your whole life. Just think of all the cool stuff you'd miss out on. Tonight, for instance, there's a couple dozen places worth risking potential humiliation. — Cory Graves
Run the Jewels at Trees
One of the highlights of last year's Index Fest, and this summer's inaugural Suburbia Festival, this collaborative effort between underground rap gods Killer Mike and El-P was still riding high off the release of its last summer-released — and free — self-titled debut when it released its also-free-to-download followup a couple weeks ago. You'll probably get a little bit of both tonight. And if not? No matter. You're still seeing two legends. — Pete Freedman
King Diamond at House of Blues
Is he evil? Hell yeah he is. And, somewhat quietly, the Danish-born King of Satanic metal has been living in Frisco for over two decades now. Tonight the Mercyful Fate singer will bring his golden-throated falsettos to Dallas proper at this Fun Fun Fun Fest warm-up gig. — CG
Judas Priest at Allen Event Center
Who is the greatest metal band of all time? Sabbath? Iron Maiden? For a lot of folks, the answer is hands-down Judas Priest. Wait, why are all these bands British? We digress. Rob Halford and Co. make a strong argument for that title, in that so many other contenders started their own careers as Priest cover bands. We're looking at you, Slayer. Anyhow, the legends perform in Dallas tonight on their way down to Fun Fun Fun Fest. — CG
Ticket Tap Takeover at Cold Beer Co.
From 3 to 7 p.m. 1310 The Ticket's Hardline crew will be broadcasting live from the still-pretty-new Deep Ellum bar, where they'll be charged with crowning the station's official beer of North Texas Beer Week. It's mostly an honorary title, sure, but for once you can bet Danny won't be sneaking out to take pulls from the flask in his car. — CG
Tinariwen at Granada Theater
The blues always sounds better when the entity creating it has really been through some shit. That's what makes the tunes of flat broke, jailbirds from the segregation-rich Depression era like Lead Belly and the like created tunes that were so much more haunting and enduring than someone like Stevie Ray Vaughan. And make no mistake, Tinariwen have toughed out some shit. The band came into being when its members were plucked from their nomadic lifestyle and forced into military service by Colonel Gaddafi. — CG
Ab-Soul at South Side Music Hall
The third most popular member of Black Hippy (behind Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q and ahead of Jay Rock), Ab-Soul is in town supporting his third LP, These Days…, which was recorded, for the most part, at Mac Miller's house. Like many of his TDE labelmates, he tends to straddle the fence between underground and mainstream quite well, meaning this one should prove equal parts heady and fun. — CG
Jay Leno at Bass Performance Hall
Headlining UNT Health Science Center Foundation's annual fundraiser this evening is noted car collector and Conan O'Brien nemesis Jay Leno will be doing his stand-up thing for a good cause. Opening is the locally-tied duo Dawn & Hawkes, which you might remember from last season of The Voice. That show really does love its North Texans. — CG
Radkey, Twin Peaks, Sealion at City Tavern
Radkey is very much like The Orwells. Lots of thrashing. A lot of the same young fanbase. A lot of Ramones influence. They are very rad. Get it? Sorry, that's the best I've got right now. I've been drinking in an attempt to stay warm. Expect Chicago-based tour support Twin Peaks and Dallas' Sealion to each offer up high-energy sets of their own. — PF
Single Mothers at Sons of Hermann Hall
As Single Mothers vocalist Drew Thomson put it in a recent Pitchfork interview, you don't have actually sing well to be a good frontman. His aggressively wordy delivery does seem to pair well with his band's particular brand of heavy punk, though. For Thomson, the lyrics come first, and are more important than how they're actually delivered, anyway. Still, he does an excellent job making sure that onslaught of words is as easily intelligible as they are brutal. Self Defense Family, Goodtime Boys and Innards also perform. — CG
Brew Haha Comedy Series at Rahr & Sons Brewing
Laugh until Ugly Pug comes out of your nose at the Rahr & Sons stop on the Brew Haha comedy series. In addition to stand-up sets from a handful of local comedians, your ticket will score you a tour, a souvenir pint glass and three tastings of Rahr's brews. — CG
Just Sahm Dudes at Fred's Café (Free)
In nearly three years, the only time I've ever been threatened with physical violence because of something I wrote for this site is when I ranked the top 100 musicians from Texas and somehow forgot to include roots rock heavyweight and Tex-Mex pioneer Doug Sahm. For the record, I totally agree with you anonymous commenter, I do deserve that spanking. Tonight RTB2 and friends will make sure the rest of the world is more aware of Sahm's greatness than I previously was. — CG
”Expressions of the Female Aura” at Kettle Art
At this show — which opens tonight and runs through Saturday, November 22 — five locally-based female artists “with diverse commentaries on the feminine gender, portrayed through a collectively vibrant palette of color and imagery” will come together to present their works. They include Roxanne Mather, Corey Godfrey, Megan Petasky, Emily Hawkins and Harmony Witte. — CG
Darrell Scott at Kessler Theater
Despite the fact that the Grammy-nominated country singer-songwriter has previously won the American Music Association's Song of the Year award for his “Hank Williams' Ghost” and the award for best country album in the Independent Music Awards, he's still mostly known as a behind-the-scenes guy. To that end he's not only penned hits for other artists — perhaps most notably The Dixie Chicks' “Long Time Gone” — and playing in Steve Earle and Robert Plant's respective backing bands. — CG
City and Colour at Verizon Theatre
If Dallas Green's post-hardcore outfit Alexisonfire was somehow too heavy for you, good news! He's done with that outfit! These days, the singer-songwriter is fronting his decidedly softer former side project, City and Colour, and touring the country once more. — PF
Moon Taxi at Cambridge Room
Moon Taxi is not to be confused with Mambo Taxi. The former is a sincere indie folk-pop outfit from Nashville, while the latter is a delicious half-margarita, half-sangria concoction you can find at Mi Cocina. Real talk, these two are probably best enjoyed at the same time. — PF
Motez at Candleroom
Baghdad-bred producer Motez frequently breaks the internet with his remixes of popular jams. Tonight, along with Trillwave DJs Closed Caption and Dubble A, he'll his best not to break the dance floor at the Candleroom. — CG
Peelander-Z at Tomcats West
For most bands swapping out members is a pretty big headache, and can even be viewed as a divisive action among fans (See: Van Halen vs Van Hagar). For Japanese comic book punks Peelander-Z, though, it's as simple as buying a new color pseudo Power Ranger costume and voila! And that's not intended as a slight towards the band in the least: Peelander's live shows are often as action-packed as the comic-style characters they emulate. — CG
Sick of it All at Three Links
Heroes of New York's early '90s hardcore scene, Sick of it All, is still around and kicking some 30 years later. The band released a new LP in September, which is full of plenty of old fashioned vigor, though its venom is reserved to lambaste things like smartphones these days. Negative Approach, Modern Pain and Truth open. — CG
Depth at Red Light Lounge
Tonight Blake Ward and Feezy kickoff a new weekly they're calling Depth, at Deep Ellum's new-ish Red Light Lounge spot. Says Ward, the duo will be playing a lot of underground tracks that “go deeper, louder, darker and definitely filled with more chest-rattling bass” than his weekly sets at Beauty Bar. Sounds like a party. — CG
Taco Night at Four Corners Brewing Co.
This far into North Texas Beer Week you're going to want some good, greasy food in your belly to soak up some of that booze. Here comes your sweet relief. Admission gets you a taco from three of the city's finest taquerias (read: El Tizoncito, El Come Taco and Urban Taco) and four brews to wash them down. — CG
One Last Vibe at Beauty Bar
Every Thursday night since last October, resident DJ Colly T and varying cast of guest DJs hold it down with their self-proclaimed “exploration of the deepest, grooviest forms of dance music” at the Henderson Avenue hot spot that taught Dallas to leave the house on Thursday nights. And tonight, as he's decided to part ways with Beauty Bar, Colly T and special guest Dragonlazer will hold things down one last time. — CG
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
