Central Track Contributor
Enjoy Some Formidable Options.
Most Mondays are slow.
This one isn't.
I have no idea why this is. But sometimes it's best not to question these things. Just count your blessings and move on.
In today's case, we count five blessings.
The Joy Formidable at Trees
In 2011, Welsh rock trio The Joy Formidable scored a fairly major hit with the song “Whirring” off of their debut LP, The Big Roar. After some honest-to-goodness humble beginnings circulating the blogosphere, the song would go on to reach as high as No. 7 on the Billboard alternative charts. Because, hey, it's a good song — one that would even go so far as to earn the band some mainstream radio festival shine. To wit: Last time the Joy Formidable were in town, it was to play KDGE 102.1-FM The Edge's How The Edge Stole Christmas at the Verizon Theatre alongside such names as Passion Pit, Fun., Metric, Grouplove and the Silversun Pickups. The downside to the band's appearance tonight at Trees? None of those other bands will be there. The upside? This is a way smaller room and, almost certainly, the show should benefit from the setting.
Goat, Holy Wave and Strange Towers at Dan's Silverleaf
Whereas most bands are content to simply be Swedish or experimental, Goat has the audacity to be both, which likely best explains why the tribal-meets-sludge of their 2012 debut, World Music, is so alluring. That, or maybe it has something to do with the whole voodoo backstory the band perpetuates about its origin. Either way: This is freaky stuff.
Skyline 360 Tour at Klyde Warren Park's Reading and Games Room
If you've ever taken a walking tour of a city and just been like, “Ugh, this is so infuriating! If only I could simply stand still and learn about this city!” then today's your lucky day, as this lunchtime (12:30 p.m.) affair at the deck park was built practically just for you. It's a 25-minute standing tour. And the whole idea is that you just stand in place, look up, turn in circles and listen intently as a local architecture expert learns you up on all them skyscrapers 'round those there parts.
Terminator 2, Bludded Head, Cerulean Giallo, Cult Life and A Smile Full of Ale at Macaroni Island
Denton's most-happening house venue of the moment continues its particularly strong off-night booking with this heavy offering of locals.
ThePianoGuys at the House of Blues
These dudes made their name by covering otherwise popular songs on YouTube, but their name is somewhat misleading: They're not, like, some deep roster of piano players. Instead, they're one dude with a piano and another dude with a cello. Really, their name should be The Piano Guy and The Cello Guy, but that would obviously make too much sense. Anyway, if YouTube hits are an indication of popularity, these guys are huge. And people seem kind of into this stuff lately; a surprisingly large number of people I know and respect went to that similarly inclined 2Cellos show a few weeks back (which was also on a Monday, go figure). If you sometimes find yourself grossed out and offended by the grossly unoffensive, though, this show is very much not for you.
