Central Track Staff
Leave a Trace.
There's probably not much in the world able to make you as happy as a dog popping a massive water balloon, a puppy sliding into a riverbank or a pig diving into a pile of leaves. But, damn, if you watch any of those three videos you'll realize those critters are in hog heaven.
At the same time it's a good idea to count one's blessings. Let out your little piglet tonight and really take joy in the fact that just about everywhere you turn tonight, people in Dallas will be having themselves quite the time. — Cory Graves
CHVRCHES at The Bomb Factory
Since releasing its debut EP a few years back, Glasgow synth pop outfit CHVRCHES has risen from little known buzz band to festival staple. It's rare the trio plays club gigs or rooms even the size of the admittedly pretty massive Bomb Factory since the release of its sophomore full-length earlier this year. Perhaps we can thank its upcoming Fun Fun Fun appearance for this show. Mansionair opens. — CG
WrestleMania 32 On-Sale Party at AT&T Stadium (Free)
Listen up, brother: We've been hyped for a while now on the news that the WWE will be bringing Wrestlemania 32 to Arlington's AT&T Stadium on April 13, 2016. Tickets to the big event itself will be going on sale starting at 9 a.m. (Central) on Friday, November 6, through Ticketmaster. Tickets will start at $18 (probably nosebleeds, but still!) with ringside VIP seats going for $2,360 per, but also including a commemorative WrestleMania 32 take-home folding chair. But, attendees to this free on-sale party, can snag tickets before they go on sale to the rest of the public. The event also features live NXT matches and appearances from Stone Cold Steve Austin, Lita, Booker T, Lana and Mark Henry. — Pete Freedman
Misfits at Gas Monkey Live
A week after his brother Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein played Trees, the Misfits' last surviving original member, bassist Jerry Only, brings the “every day is like Halloween” band and its goofy haircuts to Dallas. If it helps sway your decision to see these guys on a weeknight, the band will be performing its debut album, Static Age in full at this show. — CG
Parquet Courts at Rubber Gloves (Sold Out)
The concept of place has constantly dogged Parquet Courts' Andrew Savage since he decided to move from Denton to New York a few years ago. In a 2012 interview with Impose Magazine he touched on the fact that the place a song was written doesn't necessarily give any one city any more ownership of his work than any other. “Honestly, I don't really credit moving with a significant artistic shift, musically anyway,” Savage said in that piece. “People always want to identify [us] as being from or of somewhere, but we are a planet earth band. We could do this anywhere on the globe.” Tonight, for instance, the last great New York band will do its thing in Denton. Party Static, Sin Motivo and The Noids open. — CG
The Dwarves at Three Links
Since forming in Chicago in the mid-'80s, the Dwarves have been almost constantly terrorizing audiences with their insane live shows, their offensive lyrics and their nude on-stage antics. Time has done little to dampen any of these tendencies, either. To wit, the first time the band played this venue, there were two all-out girl fights, someone was walking around the club bleeding profusely and one girl watched in horror as the contents of a purse were discarded across the stage. Oh, and the headliner cut their set short. Sounds like a fairly extraordinary night. Except, well, this was just another show from The Dwarves, really. Tonight, the band will play two sets following opening performances from Classic Cult, The Bulemics and The Swingin' Dicks. — Jeremy Hughes
Title Fight, Alex G at The Prophet Bar
Winter is coming. Pennsylvania punk and bedroom-pop acts Title Fight and Alex G are all the reminder you need. Their songs delve on chilling subjects of death and isolation, but still manage to allow a warm palette of sound to overcome the swell of darkness. — Evan Henry
TOPS at Dada
Emerging from the same Montreal DIY scene that spawned acts like Grimes and Majical Cloudz before them, TOPS is the latest in a long line of bands borne out of Arbutus Records' “warehouse pop” network. We lump them in with those other bands not to pigeonhole them — really, they don't sound anything alike — but to point out how rich that particular scene is at the moment. And how talked-about, too: To date, TOPS' biggest bout of publicity came last year when ex-touring member Mac DeMarco briefly flashed his balls in the band's “Way To Be Loved” video — although, to be fair, the band was certainly on some people's radars well before that. One such person would be Gorilla vs. Bear's Chris Cantalini, who ranked the band's debut album No. 8 on his “Best Albums of 2012” list and its Fleetwood Mac/Berlin-mining follow-up his No. 4 on last year's list. Puro Instinct and Denton's Pageantry open, and for more info on this show, check out our interview with TOPS frontwoman Jane Penny here. — CG
AWOLNATION at South Side Ballroom
It's tough to tell if AWOLNATION will actually be at the House of Blues tonight. Y'know because they might be “AWOL,” in which case I give you permission to illegally download as much electronic music you can in retaliation. Yes, that was a bad joke. — Chelsea Upton
Steven Michael Quezada at Hyena's Fort Worth (Free)
As somewhat serious as AMC's wildly popular Breaking Bad proved to be in its five-season run, it's kind of wild to think about how many comedians played substantial roles in the series. Think about it: Bryan Cranston was primarily known for his role as Hal on Malcolm in the Middle; Bob Odenkirk, who played Saul, starred in Mr. Show; stand-up comedians Bill Burr and Lavell Crawford played Saul's con-man Kuby and bodyguard Huell, respectively; and DEA Agent Steven “Gomie” Gomez was played by Steven Michael Quezada, who'll be showing off his funnier side with stand-up sets all weekend long. Like most every Thursday show at Hyena's, this first one is free. — CG
David Sedaris at Bass Hall
The art of satire lives with acclaimed author David Sedaris. Sharp observations of the human condition and social critiques have led Sedaris to a Grammy nomination and praise as one of America's bitchiest, most humorous writers. It'll be a cynic's delight. — Porttia Portis
Brew-Haha Comedy Series at Lakewood Brewing Co.
Laugh until Rock Ryder comes out of your nose as the brewery-set comedy tour drops by the Garland brewery. — CG
Underachievers at Trees
All Aboard The Forevermore Express, because psychedelic Flatbush hip-hop duo The Underachievers are set to make things weird tonight. You may need to burn one down to get on their level. Pouya, The Buffet Boys, Kirk Knight and Bodega Bamz get the train moving. — CG
BounceDTX at Random Art Gallery
Not sure if you've noticed, but North Texas is p3wing the pop music game. To wit: four of the country's top seven albums right now have local ties. One of those is The Game's new LP, which features a guest spot from Garland's Justus. It's one of two albums on the charts at the moment that he appears on. He'll host this event, which features performances from Cardo and Blue, the Misfit, as well as free beers. — CG
Liz at UTD Art Barn
Diplo protige and Mad Decent signee Liz plays UTD's end of the semester party. Experimental Kentucky electronic artist Ellie Herring also performs. — CG
Toadies at Rockin' Rodeo
Earlier this fall, the Toadies released a new studio LP that might seem like something of an odd left turn for the band. The disc features a batch of, “almost acoustic” material, largely comprised of reworked “hits” from previous albums performed on mandolin, piano and banjo among other instruments. But for anyone who has ever been to the first night of the band's annual Dia de los Toadies festival, the Heretics LP will sound instantly familiar. The band continues its stripped down tour in support of the album tonight in Denton. — CG
Bishop Arts Wine Walk
For the final time of 2015 you can get your classy wine drunk on as you listen to live music and stroll around the Bishop Arts district. A glass costs fifteen bucks, and you can enjoy wine tastings around the area in any of the participating shops, most of which will also be staying open later than normal and offering up specials. — CG
V for Vendetta at Alamo Drafthouse
Remember, remember why every protestor ever started wearing Guy Fawkes masks? Oh, right, it had a little something to do with this 2006 political thriller. It screens today which, appropriately enough, is Guy Fawkes Night. — CG
Paradise is There: A Memoir by Natalie Merchant at Texas Theatre
The primary focus of this Natalie Merchant doc is the period where she left 10,000 Maniacs and released here solo LP, Tigerlily. It includes tons of archival footage and live performances, as well as interviews with musicians, friends and fans. Because the night belongs to lovers. — CG
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
