A Backstage Jam Session with Jane’s Addiction

In some ways, getting backstage at Gexa Energy Pavilion is a letdown. Semi-trucks that carry the bands’ stage lighting and equipment hummed a familiar chorus, and several tour buses formed a barricade that left an opened area in the center where a small group of people conversed and smoked cigarettes…

The Ten Best Concerts in DFW This Week, August 22-28

This is your official warning Dallas, It’s going to be a rough Monday. This weekend is packed to the brim with great live music and there’s nothing you can do about it. Honestly, you’ll be lucky if you make it to brunch at all (gasp). Friday night will be especially…

Kurt Vile at Trees, 8/19/13: Review

Kurt Vile | Sonny & the Sunsets Trees August 19, 2013 Sound issues can ruin a good show. The band keeps stopping to fix things, the crowd grumbles because of all the stops, and no one has a good time. So it’s to Kurt Vile, and his copious crowd of…

My Bloody Valentine at Verizon Theatre, 8/17/13: Review

My Bloody Valentine | New Fumes Saturday, August 17, 2013 Verizon Theatre There is a universal truth about My Bloody Valentine, agreed upon by nearly everything ever written about them. They play ridiculously loud. It was at about two thirds of their way into “A New You,” a soft poppy…

Heart at Gexa Energy Pavilion, 8/15/13: Review

Growing up in the late ’70s and early ’80s, bands like Heart were the bane of my existence. As a teenager, I cringed when hits like “Magic Man” or “Barracuda” were constantly coming from the radio in my dad’s car. Sure, both Ann and Nancy Wilson were easy on the…

The Seven Best Concerts in Dallas This Week, August 15-21

This week brings us another installment of Red Bull Sound Select, one of Texas’ best country bands, a local radio milestone, and some of the most influential artists of their respective genres. Lil Wayne has had some health issues on the road this year, so here’s hoping that his time…

The Melvins with Honky, 8/10/13, at Trees: Review and Setlist

The Melvins | Honky Trees Saturday, August 10, 2013 Sometimes you’ve just got to stand right at the front, in the middle. Especially when there’s two drum kits, both slightly angled in, so if you stand in the right place they’re like terrifying speakers positioned exactly for your benefit. Only…

The Seven Best Concerts In Dallas This Week, August 8-14

Whether you’re in the mood to bounce around with the shiny, happy people of The Polyphonic Spree, or get your eardrums blasted by The Melvins’ dual drummers this week has a little bit of everything for Dallas music fans. Saturday is especially packed with options for your ear holes: Denton…

Five Things That Made Us Smile at Cooler-N-Hell Fest

There were a lot of music festivals in Dallas this weekend. Most of them could have happened anywhere — did happen in many other places, in fact. But not Cooler-N-Hell Fest. Set at The Ewing Family Ranch and named after a Ray Wylie Hubbard song, Cooler-N-Hell Fest was a distinctly…