Central Track Staff
Go Deep.
In 2012, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. government implanted electrodes into the brain of a quadriplegic woman, allowing her to control a set of mechanical arms with her brain. Taking things a step farther, DARPA then trained the woman to fly a fighter jet — not with her mechanical arms, but with nothing but her mind power.
You, however, aren't a real-life bionic superhero with government implanted mind chips. Meaning? You can't experience all the badassery North Texas has to offer tonight just by thinking about it.
No, you've got to get out there and live it firsthand. — Cory Graves
Ledisi at Majestic Theatre
Ledisi's most recent album is called The Truth, which is exactly what she is. On the back of her edgy R&B vocals, she's been nominated for nine Grammys. In short, girl can sing. More recently, you might have seen her playing Mahalia Jackson in Selma. Raheem DeVaughn and Leela James open. — Lauren Rushing
Wild Child at Cambridge Room
What first comes to mind when you think of the ukulele? That played out cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” that's been in every credit card commercial known to man? That tiny little thing the wiggling hula girl on your car's dashboard is holding? Do you envision reenacting a miniature version of that scene from Animal House where Blutarsky smashes that beatnik's guitar? Even those who answered “all of the above” may still find the adorable boy/girl vocals and chemistry between Austin indie-folk outfit Wild Child pretty endearing — even if they do prominently feature the uke. Whiskey Shivers and Holiday Mountain open. — CG
Craft Spells at Dada
Craft Spells can trace its root to a period in 2009 in which Justin Paul Vallesteros first began experimenting with synth and guitar lines. Soon, he was joined by guitarist Frankie Soto, who helped him craft “Party Talk,” a pop single that helped the band surge past its small-town hero status. Now a four-piece, and with the warmer, 2014 album Nausea under its belts, Craft Spells will try to win over the Dallas crowd tonight after last night's scheduled show got pushed to tonight. The Bilinda Butchers and Glasir open. — LR
Kyle Kinane at Sons of Hermann Hall
As well-known a comedian as Kyle Kinane is — he's done specials on Comedy Central, he's appeared on Conan, he's a seven-time winner of the @midnight game show and he's a voice on the animated series Trip Tank — he's as down to earth as they came. That's because he's just like you and me. The self-professed “scumbag comedian” knows all about the perils of getting drunk and trying to order from the Wendy's drive-through, trying and failing to successfully microwave pizza rolls after the bar and throwing back an entire bottle of liquor during an episode of Drunk History (and puking into a trash bag on screen). We can totally relate. Somehow, it seems funnier when he does it, though. — LR
Above and Beyond at South Side Ballroom
Though they frequently appear in the top 10 of DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs Poll, England progressive trance trio Above & Beyond are more than just DJs. They're a must-see EDM outfit for anyone that's a fan of geeked-out, upbeat, electro-heavy sets. In short, they go above and beyond. Yeah, we went there. —LR
Jon Gnarr at Turner House
Even before Dallas publishing company Deep Vellum officially launched last year, it was already making international news, scoring a deal to publish translations of Jon Gnarr's trilogy of autobiographical fiction works. Last year, Deep Vellum founder Will Evans told us about his relationship with the famed Icelandic comedian, punk musician and anarchist otherwise known as “the world's most interesting mayor.” Said Evans: “In addition to being one of Iceland's most prominent actors and comedians before becoming mayor, he had written and published the first two works of a trilogy of 'autobiographical fiction' about his childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. The books were published in 2006 and 2009 and had never been translated. The third book is set to come out in Iceland this winter. I asked why they hadn't been published in translation, and [his team] replied that they'd been waiting for the right publisher to come along. Needless to say, I'm that publisher. And, for the last few months since, I signed on to publish the full trilogy of novels — all of which will be translated by accomplished poet, translator and professor, Lytton Smith.” Tonight, Gnarr will make his Dallas debut, reading from and signing copies of his latest book, The Indian. — CG
Waka Flocka Flame at Rockin' Rodeo
He's friends with Gucci Mane and his name is fucking Waka Flocka Flame. Why wouldn't you go see the Fozzie Bear-adoring rapper at an equally ridiculously-named Denton venue tonight? Ace Young'n, AV the Great, Elijah Heaps and DJ Ju$trill open. — Carly Seitz
Larry g(EE) Video Premiere Count Down at Three Links
In his first public appearance since being announced as the newest member of 1310-AM The Ticket, Mark Schectman will count down his favorite local music videos all TRL-style at this event, which will culminate with the premiere of Larry g(EE)'s newest music video. — CG
Helmet at Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill
You likely remember '90s alt-metal outfit Helmet from such places as The Crow soundtrack. You may also recall the band broke up in 1998. In 2004, though, frontman Page Hamilton started a new version of the band with all new members. Tonight, Helmet 2.0 will cover the original Helmet's 1994 album Betty in its entirety. — LR
Superbad & Heavy Metal Double Feature at Granada Theater
Superbad was certainly one of the top, awkwardly super-bad movies of the late 2000s. Sure, it was full of raunchy, childish humor, but that's because Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the thing when they were 13. Catch it tonight, along with a screening of 1981 Canadian animated adult fantasy flick Heavy Metal. — Chrissi Chetwood
Records Collecting Dust at Texas Theatre
There's a saying that you can't make a music documentary unless either Dave Grohl or Jello Biafra agree to be talking heads. Grohl doesn't appear Jacon Blackmore's new documentary about the record collections of famous musicians, no. But, hey, Biafra does — along with Chuck Dukowski, John Reis, Keith Morris, Mike Watt, Nick Oliveri, Joey Castillo and a couple dozen others. — CG
OG Maco at The Prophet Bar
Oh shit! Atlanta rapper OG Maco is coming to Dallas. OG Maco burst on the scene in 2014 with the annoyingly simplistic single “U Guessed It” leaving fans geeked-out and hyped as hell. The aggressive track caught fire as soon as it was uploaded to the web in 2014. See it in real life tonight, and find out if he's got anything else in his bag. — LR
“Fractal Logic” at Kettle Art
Opening tonight, Kettle's current exhibition features 25 artists from various media, each of which has created large works that are made up of at least a dozen smaller works. Hence the name. Stand back, though, and they appear as one. — CG
Midgets, Metal and Mayhem at Trees
With his showcasing of the General Tom Thumb in the late 1800s, P.T. Barnum helped to bring the phrase “midget” into popular lexicon. Over time, however, the term began to take on a more derogatory nature, with a connotation often implying a certain level of public ridicule. About the only place you'll ever hear the term today is when a certain level of exploitation is involved. Hence this event being named as it is, one assumes. — CG
voltREvolt (Album Release) at Dan's Silverleaf
After reaching its funding goal on Kickstarter to release its Tangled in the Light album back in July, the wait is over: The indie folk rock band voltREvolt will celebrate the release of its new album at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton this Thursday. The show is only $7, so be sure to check it out and show your support. The Birds of Night and Brave Young Lion open. — CS
NEXT TOPIC: What is an Artist Talk? at Centraltrak
This evening, UT Dallas's artist residency it will host artist and educator Daniel Atkinson, who will discuss artist talks, touch upon their history and meaning, and provide insight for how artists can speak about their work in nontraditional ways. Considering the topic and the large number of places Atkinson has taught at — including museums and schools alike — we bet his presentation will be pretty interesting. — CS
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
