H. Drew Blackburn
Catch Seryn Before They Disappear.
How do you feel about New Year's Eve? If you are John Oliver, you absolutely despise it.
Said the comedian in a recent episode of Last Week Tonight: “New Year's Eve is like the death of a pet. You know it's going to happen but somehow you're never really prepared for how truly awful it is.”
He's got a point there.
Adds Oliver: “Three of the least pleasant things known to mankind: forced interaction with strangers being drunk, cold and tired, and having to stare at Ryan Seacrest for five solid minutes, waiting for him to tell you what the time is.”
Yeah, it's pretty much the worst. Good thing, then, that all that craziness is still a day away. In our experience New Year's Eve Eve ain't half bad. — Cory Graves
Blue Man Group at Winspear Opera House
It's such a weird show idea, yet the Blue Man group have been packing in the audiences with their oddball performances for quite some time. PVC pipe drumming, paint splatters and three stoically silent men make for a hilariously fun evening. Unfortunately, Tobias won't be there. — Chelsea Upton
Seryn's Send Off Show at Kessler Theater (Sold Out)
Here's a pretty shocking fact to take into consideration when contemplating Seryn: For all of the band's successes, for all of its fans and critics alike, for all of the opinions that are out there, already existing about this Denton-sprung outfit, the band has only released a single full-length album unto the world. That would be 2011's This Is Where We Are, an album that immediately thrust the band into the regional spotlight, and, thanks to its intricately arranged and beautifully performed brand of folk-rock, quite rightfully so. Since that release, the band's mostly slipped into a holding pattern, at least so far as follow-up album releases have gone. Of course, on the whole, the band has hardly been stagnant: Last summer, the band released a new single; around that same time, the band made it known that a documentary on its processes was too in the works; along the way, there've been numerous tours and festival appearances; and, most recently, the band made it known that it would be taking its talents to Nashville where it can really give this whole music thing a proper go. In fact, tonight's sold-out show represents the band's last as a quote-unquote North Texas-based band. But, for all of these actions, none of the band's recent moves display a more powerful a statement of the band's staying power than its lone 2014-released single, a song perhaps a little ironically called “Disappear” — which we called the fourth best locally-released single of the year — as it serves rather specifically to remind everyone of this band's prowess. — Pete Freedman
Peelander-Z at Three Links
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. Party Static and Pretty Little Demons open. — CG
Toadies at Billy Bob's
As obsessed with its past as the North Texas music scene was in 2014, there have been plenty of opportunities to catch the Toadies playing this year, to be sure. Unlike any of those shows, though, you can hear “Possum Kingdom” for the umpteenth time while simultaneously riding a mechanical bull and/or watching pro riders hop atop the real thing. — CG
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
