The Best Concerts In Dallas This Week, 11/3-11/9
Image via Capitol Records
This week is pretty stacked with some great shows. One of the best we've had in Dallas in a while. Lionel Richie does the whole casino in Oklahoma thing, the English Beat plays Trees, as does Run the Jewels and Ratking. Death from Above 1979 is set to play a surely rambunctious show at the Granada. Thee Oh Sees play what is surely a minuscule room for them in Denton (which is absolutely awesome). And... Yeah there's just a bunch of great stuff this week. We'll stop talking and let you carry on with the picks.
The English Beat
7 p.m., Monday, November 3, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., 214-741-1122 or treesdallas.com, $25-$30
The English Beat -- or simply just the Beat to fans in the know -- were part of the two-tone ska revival movement in late-1970s England. They're best known for their catchy, skank-friendly tune "Ranking Full Stop" and for "Mirror in the Bathroom," a sax-driven meta-ska classic. Their sound is a mash of tropical reggae rhythms and stree-wise singalong lyrics that made them a little more accessible to pop music fans than their peers. They're a;sp one of the surviving bands out of a scene that garnered similar groups like the Specials, Madness and the Selector. As ever, when they make a stop in Dallas on November 3 for a visit to Trees, heckered ska-wear should be considered mandatory. Pablo Arauz
Ms. Lauryn Hill
8:30 p.m., Tuesday, November 4, at South Side Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar, 214-421-2021 or southsideballroomdallas.com, $65
Lauryn Hill is unquestionably a monolithic figure in music. She was one third of the Fugees, a classic and important rap group from the '90s. After the Fugees broke up, she released one of the greatest albums ever conceived in The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill which quickly entered not only the R&B canon, but the canon of contemporary music, and won Album of the Year at the 1999 Grammys. Lately, Lauryn Hill has caught some flack for her live show, but close friend andf BlackStar member Talib Kweli says shit, it's Ms. Lauryn Hill, you peons should be honored. Is he right though, or is Lauryn Hill washed? H. Drew Blackburn
The Briefs
With The Applicators, PEARS, Blank-Men, Tuesday, November 4, at Three Links, 2704 Elm St., threelinksdeepellum.com, $12-$15
The Briefs would've been perfect for a venue like the CBGB, but alas -- they missed their time. Fortunately, Three Links should more than suffice. The Briefs make the type of punk music you're all too familiar with: Loud, quick, and galvanized by a knack for criticizing the establishment. The band was founded in 2000 in Seattle and released four albums between then and 2005. Since the Briefs don't exactly tour all too often these days, you've stumbled upon some true luck; Dallas is the first stop on a string of five Texas shows for their current tour. HDB
alt-J
8 P.M., Wednesday, November 5th, at South Side Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar, gilleysdallas.com, $35-$40
If only life could be as charmed for the rest of us as it is for the members of alt-J. The band formed when the original four members met and started working on songs while earning degrees at Leeds University. After graduating, they moved to Cambridge, claimed Jobseeker's Allowance, spent a couple years rehearsing, released a debut album that sold a million records and played sold-out shows across the globe. They played Granada, then House of Blues and now South Side Ballroom. Perhaps it will be Verizon next time? This band is still rising with no signs of stopping, even after losing a member and returning with their sophomore album as a trio. Their live shows are tight enough to hush any naysayers and their sound combines several genres (pop, folk, dub, indie rock, etc.) and draws comparisons to a plethora of very different bands. Jeremy Hallock
Run the Jewels
with Ratking, and Despot, 7 p.m., Thursday, November 6, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., 214-741-1122 or treesdallas.com, $17-20
Run the Jewels is the meow meow meow hottest thing in music right meow. EL-P and Killer Mike's meow meow collaboration is so popular meow that they were able to fund a remix meow album that will consists of nothing but cat noises meow meow through Kickstarter with ease. Meow meow meow, meow. They leaked their own album to the meow meow internet, and Twitter meow decided that it's so good meow that people meow are spontaneously combusting. Honestly a meow show meow meow preview isn't needed. Meow. This is the meow show of the week, the month, meow and most likely the year. Trees meow meow holds around a thousand meow people, so make meow damn sure you're meow one of those meow at this show. Meow meow purr. Would hate meow to see you out there meow meow frontin' like you were six months from meow. Hiss. Jaime-Paul Falcon
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print ArticleAdvertisement
