Central Track Contributor
Take A Gamble.
Next to porn, cat videos are probably the single biggest reason the Internet exists.
That's not as bad a thing as it seems, though. According to a new study by an Indiana University Media School researcher, watching online cat videos “boosts viewers' energy and positive emotions and decreases negative feelings.”
In other words, it's good for you.
You know what else is good for you? Getting out of the house every once in a while. According no research at all, we can guarantee the following list will, um, boost your emotions too, or some such. — Cory Graves
Friday
Sage Francis at Dada
Indie rapper Sage Francis' most recent release, Copper Gone is a healthy mix of noise rap blasts, wordy, intellectual rhymes and loads of, mostly critical, commentary on the often laughable state of mainstream hip-hop. It's undeniably solid. — CG
Johnnyswim at House of Blues
Johnnyswim is made up of Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramirez, and they create a cocktail of soul, folk and rock with their music. If you're a fan of Bob Dylan, Feist or John Legend, you'll probably like this L.A.-based band playing at the House of Blues tonight. — Diamond Victoria
Red Bull Sound Select Presents: The Riverboat Gamblers at Three Links
Once a month, popular energy drink company Red Bull brings to Dallas a series of gripping, genre-defying acts for the low price $3 with RSVP. This month, contemporary semi-local punk rockers The Riverboat Gamblers rip through and, let's just say, last time the band played this same venue things got pretty wild. Son of Stan and Richie open. — Evan Henry
The Appleseed Cast at Dan's Silverleaf
The Appleseed Cast's 2013 release, Illumination Ritual, saw the band finally come full-circle, returning to its emo roots after venturing heavily into post-rock territory on its previous two releases, Peregrine and Sagarmartha. In that same vein, the band will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its sophomore release, Mare Vitalis at this one. Expect a somewhat disjunctive set with tight vocals and clean guitars on some songs, and a decidedly experimental vibe on many of the others. — Stephen Young
Seryn, Gollay at Kessler Theater
Back in 2014, Seryn made a believer out of its harshest critics — us, included — with the release of its spectacular single, “Disappear.” We gushed about it in quite some length here. More recently, the band's released its long awaited sophomore LP which contains that gem, and relocated to Nashville. I guess that makes this one a homecoming, then. The still-Fort-Worth-residing Gollay opens. — CG
Todrick Hall at Majestic Theatre
It's astounding what the web in 2015 is capable of. In this event, local YouTube sensation Todrick Hall is making the rounds as part of an actual tour across sold-out venues throughout the country. Expect motions of twerking, singing and plenty of laughs to accompany the approximate 90-minute performance. — EH
Criminal Birds at The Foundry (Free)
Denton psych outfit Criminal Birds is “out on the road” in support its album Fizzy Water and to celebrate its efforts, the quartet is playing a free show at the Foundry. Fort Worth's Sally Majestic opens. And the fried chicken is the real star. — EH
Black Joe Lewis at Bar Louie's (Fort Worth)
Sure to swell Bar Louie in Fort Worth to it's max capacity, is Austin blues band Black Joe Lewis. Like all the other shows in this Good Records-curated concert series, this ones free, but sure to fill quickly. — EH
Van Darien at Magnolia Motor Lounge
Once based here in town, bluesy Americana project, Van Darien relocated to Nashville a few months back in support of its dreams. Now, for a moment, the outfit is back in the graceful arms of North Texas as part of brief tour. Locals Natural Anthem and Bad Mountain open things up in support of the rare occasion. — EH
Third Anniversary Party at Ten Bells Tavern
Oak Cliff's favorite little bar, Ten Bells Tavern, is turning three and everyone's invited to the party! Enjoy Peticola's Velvet Hammer on draft and chill on the patio for some fun and heavy [kitty] petting. — DV
King Chip at The Monroe
You might recognize Cleveland-based rapper King Chip (aka Chip Tha Ripper) from his work with Kid Cudi. Originally set to go down at Thee Theater, this show has since been moved over to the Monroe. — DV
Pinkish Black, Sabbath Assembly, Fogg at The Grotto
Blending ethereal, almost medieval instrumentation with haunting vocals and occult religious experience in the form of satanic hymns is Texas and New York-based metal outfit, Sabbath Assembly, which is touring in support of its forthcoming self-titled full-length. Locals Pinkish Black and Fogg filter their own breed of erratic intensity in between. — EH
Town Hall Devils at Double Wide
With a genre spanning rock 'n' roll, psychedelic, Americana and punk, Austin-based Town Hall Devils have a pretty interesting sound. The band's first record, Ouroboros Blues was released earlier this year and it'll be playing at Double Wide tonight. The Sideshow Tragedy and Fur Cabin open. — DV
Tombstone at Granada Theater
Starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, 1993 modern Western epic Tombstone is set to screen amidst the cooling insides of the Granada Theater for the low price of a $3 cover. Further set off the old time saloon feel with $3 shots and beer specials accompany this hoot of a good time presented by area western station KHYI The Range. — EH
DAMN IV at the Green Elephant
Complete with mind-bending visuals, let both organic and synthesized drones manifest themselves into your being as part of Dallas Ambient Music Nights or DAMN for short. The fourth installment of the experimental soundscape continues at the Green Elephant, with music by The Owl and The Octopus, Brian Tomerlin, brightbluebeetle, Kent Evans, Fond Phantom, oldsol and Joshua Westerman, all set to visuals courtsey of Michael A Morris, John Barker, Brian Tomerlin and Thor Johnson. It is something everyone should experience at least once. — EH
Kings Of The Mic w/ LL Cool J at Gexa Energy Pavilion
Considered a legend by many in the hip-hop community is LL Cool J who as part of Boom 94.5's Kings Of The Mic event, is performing a headlining venture. Perhaps he'll take your own and snap selfies or give your lady a rose, like that of his NCAA performance last March. You never know with this lady-killer. DJ Zip Trip, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and plenty more round out this classic hip trip. — EH
Saturday
Vans Warped Tour at Gexa Energy Pavilion
A great way to kick off this summer is getting hot and sweaty at the annual Vans Warped Tour. While the lineup may not necessarily be quite as great this year as it was in the early days, you can still get that killer tan you've been wanting. Bands on the tour this year include Black Veil Brides, Motion City Soundtrack, Memphis May Fire, Attila, Pierce the Veil, Bebe Rexha, Knuckle Puck, Silverstein, Kosha Dillz, Koo Koo Kanga Roo and about a gazillion more, spread out across 10 stages. — Ashley Gongora
Kool Keith w/ DJ Qbert at Trees
The self-proclaimed inventor of horror-core rap, Kool Keith has floated between several alter egos throughout his long career (See also: Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, Black Elvis, Mr. Gerbik, Rhythm X). These days, though, Kool Keith performances are an off-the-wall blend of attention-deficit hip-hop and weird diatribes that illicit a Kaufman-esque is-he-a-crazy-genius-or-just-crazy vibe. Bodega Brovas, Playdough, Sean P. Ronnie Blaze and Gitmo Music also perform. — CG
Taco Libre! At Main Street Garden Park
Obsessed with tacos? Like bands and lucha libre wrestling? Well oh boy, Dallas has a festival for you. At the appropriately named Taco Libre! festival, $12 gets you into a full day of access to tacos from all over the Metro, all in one convenient locale. Make friends, hang out and have fun while stuffing your bowels with DFW's finest tacos. — EH
Michael McDonald at Celebration Park (Free)
The 20th anniversary edition of the City of Addison's Market Street Allen USA Celebration brings the king of blue-eyed soul himself, ex-Doobie Brother/Steely Dan backup singer to town. Also worth celebrating? He's playing free of charge. And there'll be fireworks. You better believe I mo be there. — CG
Cory Branan at Dan's Silverleaf
Proclaimed “No Hit Wonder,” southern Mississippi songwriter Cory Branan blazes through on a routine trip west. Too punk for country, and too country for punk, Branan rides a path all his own. The Silverleaf's own Isaac Hoskins opens. — EH
Reunion Lawn Party at Reunion Tower (Free)
After getting cancelled last month, The Reunion Tower's monthly Lawn Party series finally kicks off this weekend, happening every last Saturday of the month throughout the summer. They've got food trucks, local brewers and lots of lawn games. There will also got live music by Jonathan Fox Band and Folk Family Revival. It all goes down at the base of the dick tower. — DV
Xtreme Knockout 26 at Gas Monkey Live
You'd think witnessing 10 professional fights for an online television network all VIP style wouldn't cost you upwards of $1,000 a pop, but you'd be wrong as Gas Monkey Live becomes host to the 26th installment of Back Alley Promotions' Xtreme Knockout boxing series. Fret not, though, as the rest of us regular folk can witness all these grown men pummel each other for just $35. — Evan Henry
Extreme Disc Golf at AT&T Stadium
Sometime ago, someone really liked golf and wanted to take it to the next, edgier level. Disc Golf was born. Out went the ball and clubs, in came the Frisbee flying disc. Tonight only, you can play 9 holes of Disc Golf inside the tunnels of the AT&T Death Star. There will also be a self-guided tour, and you'll get a two-disc player pack. There are three levels of pricing, which you can learn about here. — Chase Whale
Ghost of Blind Lemon Re-Launch Party at Double Wide
The once-popular area music blog, Ghost of Blind Lemon is gracing the web with its presence once again. To celebrate, it's founder Chris “The Ghost” Mueller is hosting a re-launch party at the Double Wide with Ducado Vega, monkeysphere and Uneasy Pilgrim providing the night's entertainment. — EH
DJ Craze at Lizard Lounge
A former Time Magazine No. 1 DJ in the country is heating things up at Lizard Lounge tonight, DJ Craze is spinning all night. It's free if you RSVP in advance or $20 at the door, so let 'em know you're coming. — DV
Matthew McNeal (Album Release) at The Underpass (Free)
Supporting Compadre, the debut album from 22-year-old Fort Worth Americana artist Matthew McNeal is this Dallas-based release show. Like-minded locals Bad Mountain and Wesley Geiger also perform at this free show. — EH
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? at Alamo Drafthouse (Free)
Well, who did frame Roger Rabbit? Find out at this free screening, which will be accompanied with some clips from the upcoming season of IFC's Maron. — Diamond Victoria
Summer Mockbusters: Face/Off at Granada Theater
This movie is ridiculous but a must-see for fans of ridiculous movies. As luck would have it, the Granada Theater has a free screening of Face/Off going on this Saturday. There's going to be a live twitter feed shown alongside the silver screen, which is especially nice because the guys from the Dallas Comedy House are bound to drop some heckling-gold. The screening of Nic Cage and John Travolta's face-trading saga kicks off at 8 p.m. — Chris Escarfullery
Dollar Night at Lone Star Park
If you've only got a few bucks in your pocket, the Dollar Night at Lone Star Park is where you need to be. It's a buck to get in and check out the races. Plus, $2 beer all night. And, hey, there's always the chance you'll leave with more money in your pocket than when you came. — DV
Oak Cliff Summer Soul Review at Sektor 607
It's an evening of dancin' and movin' to some soul for the Oak Cliff Summer Soul Review at Sektor 607 (607 N. Clinton) tonight. Kirk Thurmond and the Millennials and Larry g(EE) will perform alongside David Grover of Spinster Records. It's $20 to get in with complimentary drinks provided. — DV
Dirk Nowitzki's Charity Baseball Game at Dr. Pepper Ballpark
The Heros Foundation has been helping kids with physical and intellectual disabilities play sports and learn about teamwork since 2001. Each year they throw a celebrity baseball game to help raise funds, and this year's guest of honor is beloved Dallas Mavericks hero Dirk Nowitzi. He'll make a case to be a two-sport star on the field at the Dr. Pepper Ballpark. Proceeds of admission support The Heroes Foundation and The Dirk Nowitzki Foundation. — DV
Lisa Siders: “When the Light Shines I'm Overcome” (Opening Reception) at The Safe Room
Overcoming the death of her only child over six years ago inspired Whidbey Island, Washington-based artist Lisa Siders to manifest an installment of shredded and defeated flowers that once found solace in children's grave markers and had them sewn together to create a full memorial of the live's lost. Feel the final crystal cloth in full at the Safe Room for it's opening reception this weekend. — EH
Dallas Noir: Oak Cliff Wild Literary Festival at The Wild Detectives
As part of their first literary festival, The Wild Detectives becomes home to Dallas Noir, a “creme de la creme” of local authors the likes of Matt Bondurant, Catherine Cuellar, Ben Fountain, Suzanne Frank and plenty more are set to read from their literary efforts. Josh T. Pearson closes out the event with a performance in the backyard. — EH
“Grotesque Beauty” (Opening Reception) at The Public Trust
Self-described as “more organic,” Dallas-based visual artist Favio Moreno is displaying new works, many of which influenced by his Hispanic heritage and previously hidden to the general public. Though for a limited time only, these works along with others will be available for viewing at the most punk gallery space around, The Public Trust. — EH
Sunday
Donuts and Beer Brunch at LUCK
If you like libations with your dessert — and who doesn't? — LUCK is doing another of its monthly sbeer flight and sweets pairing, this time with donuts courtesy of Glazed Donut Works. Four flavors of donuts will be paired with four different brews from Revolver Brewing, Peticolas, Martin House and Community. Supplies are limited to the first 100 customers, which means these things tend to sell out rather quickly. — Porttia Portis
Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards Showcase at West 7th Corridor (Freee)
This weekend, Fort Worth will celebrate its music scene with its 18th annual Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards. In conjunction with that event, 48 nominated acts — including Son of Stan, Quaker City Night Hawks, Oil Boom and Jake Paleschic — will perform free sets throughout the West 7th corridor on Sunday. In addition to the showcase, that publication will put out its sixth annual charity comp, a disc that'll feature previously unreleased tracks that were recorded at Eagle Audio for this very purpose tracks. Such nominated acts Son of Stan, Chucho and The Blank-Men can be found on that one, and the proceeds from purchased comps will be donated towards local charity Lena Pope. — CG
Basquiats N Gravy: Dallas Artists Brunch at The Grove
Artists need to eat too. In order support the starving Dallas creatives just a little more, the people behind Creating Our Future Dallas host a monthly potluck brunch for the movers and shakers of the city, which they call Basquiats N Gravy. It's open to all, though it's primarily geared towards the broke creatives that make the city go 'round. — EH
Broadway en Espanol at Winspear Opera House
Broadway's Annie has been playing at the Winspear for a minute now. For this showing, though, a second cast will be sequestered in a hidden glassed-in booth somewhere deep within the theater's bowels, performing a perfectly synched Spanish translation of the play that will be delivered to Spanish-speaking attendees via special headset. No es la vida duro golpe nada. — CG
GALA of North Texas Presents: Fears for Queers V Film Festival at Texas Theatre
In it's fifth incarnation, the GALA of North Texas is hosting it's Fears For Queers Film Festival, an afternoon full of LGBT independent horror cinema at the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff. One hundred percent of profits go to the GALA Gay and Lesbian Alliance of North Texas for their GALA Youth program. It's a real horror show. — EH
Power Rangers 20th Anniversary Screening at Texas Theatre
It's been 20 years since the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers blew our minds in 1995 and everyone had their favorite Ranger. Revisit the film with a couple of the cast members tonight at Texas Theater (not including the ones that are dead or in jail) followed by a Q&A and signing. It's morphin' time, indeed. — DV
Jurassic Park / Terminator 2 Double Feature at Granada Theater
Revisit a classic with some good ol' Spielberg puppetry magic today when Granada screens Jurassic Park. Sure, the latest in the saga may have in-your-face CGI, but this one has Dr. Ian Malcolm. To top it off, a screening of Terminator 2 follows. — DV
Glenn Miller Orchestra at Levitt Pavilion
The legendary Glenn Miller Orchestra has been churning out swing and big bang music since the '30s thanks to its founder, Glenn Miller, who died in the '40s. It took a while for the act to become successful but eventually rose to become one of the most iconic bands in its genre. Check out the long-running big band outfit this weekend at Levitt Pavilion Arlington. — DV
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
