Stephen Young
Let Torche Light You Up.
You've got a smorgasbord of aural entertainment options available to you tonight, Dallas.
For you metalheads out there, there are two shows sure to melt your face in Deep Ellum tonight as sunny-sludgers Torche hit up Dada and industrial metal gods Fear Factory get set to tear up Trees. More sedate post-work options abound, too. Out at the Live Oak in Fort Worth, you can enjoy some stories with your folk tunes courtesy of Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Or you can reminisce about the year 1979 with Smashing Pumpkins at the soon-to-be-rebranded Palladium Ballroom. If none of that suits you — and, hey, no one's judging — you can take in some actual storytelling over at the MAC.
Still nothing here to scratch that itch of yours? Maybe you should go see the Elvis impersonator playing the Arboretum tonight.
No?
C'mon. Live a little.
The Smashing Pumpkins at Palladium Ballroom
Billy Corgan's vanity comeback continues tonight at the Palladium Ballroom, which is set to become the South Side Ballroom any day now, although that's neither here nor there. Anyway, you should go see Corgan tonight, especially if paying $45 to hear a glorified cover band play “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” is something that sounds up your alley.
Torche at Dada
The critically acclaimed, Miami-based Torche refers to its infectious mix of thunderous riffs and bright hooks as “stoner-pop,” which sounds just about right, both as a sonic blend and as a description of said blend. Though the band they had some mix issues while opening for hardcore act Converge at this same venue back in November, you can expect them to make up for those errors with an especially high energy performance tonight.
Fear Factory at Trees
Prefer your metal a bit more menacing? Fear Factory is just across the street from Torche tonight. The Los Angeles-based industrial metal outfit put on a raucous show at Trees last May, expect nothing less this time around.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Whiskey Folk Ramblers at The Live Oak
There's no arguing that the 81-year-old Elliott is a bona fide folk legend. In his time, he's toured with Bob Dylan, became friends with Johnny Cash and taught Arlo Guthrie to sing like his dad. Meanwhile, did you even remember to eat breakfast this morning?
Oral Fixation presents Old School at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary
The theme for tonight's storyteller session is “Old School,” so expect tales on such topics as college shenanigans and folks who are, perhaps, a bit more stuck in their ways. As a bonus? Tonight's list of performers includes Old 97's guitarist Ken Bethea.
Kraig Parker at the Arboretum
Nothing says “Summer's here!” like an Elvis impersonator performing under the stars at the Arboretum, right? Right? No? Oh well.
Torche cover photo by Ryan Russell.
