Jeff Mangum

You are almost certainly aware that Mr. Mangum is the voice, guitar and driving force behind a pair of classic, and relatively unique, albums from the 1990s when fronting the band Neutral Milk Hotel. Featuring repeated lyrical engagements with difficult subject matter, most noticeably Anne Frank, and a unique vocal…

Calexico

The last time Calexico rolled through Dallas, for their 2008 release Carried to Dust, they were as effortless as a tumbleweed but harnessed the power of a sandstorm. Since the mid-’90s, the Tucson-based band has been fusing Latin American sounds with a good rock ‘n’ roll sensibility that has taken…

Of Mice & Men

Southern California metalcore foursome Of Mice & Men are hitting the road again after the re-release of their 2011 sophomore album The Flood. They’ve made no mention of a new album, but my guess is that they’ll whip out some heavy new material. A handful of equally heavy groups like…

Oil Boom

Oil Boom’s Gold Yeller EP was one of our favorites last summer, and the handclaps of single “Great American Shakedown” soundtracked many a late night. The Dallas trio hits up the Sundown at Granada’s free local concert series on Thursday, so you’ll have a nice, warm place to shake that…

Unconscious Collective and Terminator 2

Unconscious Collective — the rhythm section of Stefan and Aaron Gonzalez plus guitarist Gregg Prickett — landed on our best albums of 2012 list, on the strength of their self-titled debut full-length album on Dallas’ Tofu Carnage Records. Straddling the underworlds of free jazz and progressive metal, the trio is…

Lucky Peterson, Jim Suhler and Hunter Hendrickson

This is a triple threat of a blues show, as two generations of Dallas guitarists gather to blow open some ancient seals. Lucky Peterson and Jim Suhler are the vets who’ve laid the foundation across dozens of albums and club gigs, and the young phenom Hendrickson represents the new guard…

The Gritz Sunday

What, you haven’t been to Sandaga 813 or seen the Gritz yet? Best get yourself familiar with RC Williams, of the famed Wednesday night Prophet Bar jams, and his R&B/funk/soul band, who can be found from 6 to midnight every Sunday night at the Expo Park club. Free before 8…

Colette, DJ Heather

You’ve most likely had an ambient awareness of Colette’s track “Feelin’ Hypnotized,” but the DJ and singer got her start back in the early ’90s with her DJ group Superjane, which featured the talents of fellow Chicagoan DJ Heather. They reunite at It’ll Do, and DJ Red Eye will be…

Holy Ship!! Day One: A Surprise Guest Whose Name Rhymes With Drillex

Katie BainOn Friday afternoon, nearly 3,000 raver chicks, dude guys, scenesters, club kids and DJs assembled at a port in Fort Lauderdale and boarded the MSC Poesia, a.k.a. Holy Ship!! (There are two exclamation points because this is the second edition of the EDM party cruise put on by L.A.’s…

At Night on New Order, and Why Music Sounds Better at Night

We caught up with the relatively new At Night, who opened for George Quartz a few weeks ago, and asked about their musical firsts. Who inspired you to pick up a musical instrument? Was it a parent, sibling or band? Jack Gallegos (vocals/guitar): For myself, I would have to say…

Love Inks

It was roughly a year ago that I saw Austin trio Love Inks one cold, wet night at Canton Co-op, when they warmed up the small crowd with their dreamy pop. Since then, they’ve gotten quite the workout touring the country, and are currently putting the finishing touches on a…

Taylor Thrash, SoMo

Dallas’ Taylor Thrash and Denton’s Joseph SoMo have a similar work ethic. Thrash just released his Vacation Mixtape, which features a reinterpretation of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” and a tribute to Frank Ocean, among other bits. SoMo, who has re-imagined songs by Ocean and Drake, released in late fall…

Night Game Cult, Shiny Around the Edges

Shiny Around the Edges and Night Game Cult soundtrack this night dedicated to the legend of Bozo Texino. Texas filmmaker Bill Daniel’s 2005 documentary on the rail-car graffiti, which has appeared on trains across the country for more than half a century and consists of a character wearing a cowboy…

Leftover Crack

Every once in a while, NYC punks Leftover Crack come to town and remind you that yes, they are still a band. They haven’t released a proper album in a decade, but songs like “Nazi White Trash” never really go out of style, do they? In fact, in a strange…

Telegraph Canyon, Glossary

Fort Worth’s Telegraph Canyon are heading out on the road with Tennessee’s Glossary for much of January, and we can’t think of a more inspired pairing. The local Southern folk group is working on finishing up a new single in the new year, as a possible taste of a new…

The Marked Men

One of Denton’s all-time best punk bands, the Marked Men, are playing at Rubber Gloves with the equally formidable Bad Sports, who are in the process of recording a new album. Since their conception in the early aughts, the Marked Men have built an international underground following through four albums…

Pinkish Black, Dim Locator

With Pinkish Black in the middle of recording their sophomore album, they might be testing out some new material at this show, so fingers crossed for that. Add in Will Kapinos’ one-man blues show Dim Locator, the Wooden Birds’ Leslie Sisson and Dallas psych wards Eyes, Wings & Many Other…

Lights All Night

With its expansion to three nights this year, Lights All Night has become a legit electronic music festival, and is testing out Fair Park’s party limits. Tiësto, AVICII, Bassnectar, Calvin Harris, Ghostland Observatory, 12th Planet, Axwell, Diplo and more will perform over the weekend, and while there seems to be…

Big Freedia

When Big Freedia, the “queen diva of bounce,” was in town this past fall for Denton’s Hot Wet Mess, audiences saw a whole lot of ass-shaking from her and her crew. She gives it her all, which is why you can expect her to do the same for the New…