Central Track Contributor
Stick With It.
Head's up: The Internet says a whiskey shortage is on the way.
According to Bourbon makers, they didn't anticipate the current demand when deciding to set aside a certain number of barrels for aging several years ago. In related news, the Internet happily reports that there is no shortage of new cat videos being uploaded to the web all the damn time.
That said, let's get our priorities straight this weekend. Let's make sure to go out and find some fun while it lasts — all the while just knowing that the cat videos will still be there waiting when we get back home. — Cory Graves
Friday
FKA Twigs at Trees (Sold Out)
The artist formerly known as Twigs is a subtle, whispery British diva whose recently released debut LP has been met with pretty universal acclaim. At the same time her hesitation to step into the spotlight has helped build a pretty solid aura of mystique. Nevertheless, her attempts at laying low have done little to stop folks from relentless harassing her online — it seems thousands of racist Twilight fans are none too pleased about the fact that she's currently dating Robert Pattinson. Unlike those jackass Twihards, though, a whole bunch of North Texans have realized how cool FKA Twigs is, because this sucker's been long sold out. — CG
Yo Gabba Gabba Live! at Verizon Theatre
Although a lot of rappers go into other forms of media after a certain point in their careers, not too many choose educational pursuits. Even fewer go on to teach something useful, like beatboxing to toddlers. Just imagine if we'd had Biz Markie teaching us beatboxing in between trippy sketches of foods dancing around inside a digestive system when we were growing up? We might've turned out to be a much better generation. For two shows today,The Biz, Leslie Hall and the cast of colorful characters from Yo Gabba Gabba will make awesome, semi-educational music. — Porttia Portis
The Orbans, Somebody's Darling, Wesley Geiger (Album Release) at Kessler Theater
The tallest and gangliest of the Texas Gentlemen, Wesley Geiger, has been slowly prepping his debut LP for a few years now and will finally release that album, called El Dorado, with tonight's performance. Ahead of that, feel free to check out the album's “As the Crow Flies”, the well-worth-your-listen leadoff track to his country-tinged, Laurel Canyon-inclined introduction. — Pete Freedman
Batman Returns at Inwood Theatre
I'm not sure how old you are, but the Batman I grew up with — and the man who will always be The Dark Knight to me — is Michael Keaton. He and Christian Bale each played the Caped Crusader really well, but Keaton brought more darkness and depth to Bruce Wayne, and I will cut you if you disagree. — Chase Whale
Song Swap at AllGood Cafe
Assuming your leftovers didn't stretch quite as far as you hoped, there's always the ol' standby of chicken fried steak at AllGood Cafe. If you do head down to the low key Deep Ellum eatery this evening, drop a couple bucks in the kitty for Ginny Mac (of Brave Combo), Dan Bowman & Jacob Metcalf (of Fox and the Bird) and Chris Hughes (The Calmative), who'll be taking part in a song swap. — CG
Black Friday Record Store Day at Good Records
Following the growing success of the now-annual Record Store Day events that take place at record store days all across the country in April, the powers that be have more recently added a second official RSD celebration to coincide with Black Friday. Good Records' celebration will feature free performances from the Aquaholics, and Street Arabs, a band that's also using the occasion to release its second batch of Jeff Burke- Mark Ryan-recorded material of the year. — CG
Blue October at House of Blues
Did you know Blue October started in Houston? Tonight the Texas outfit stops just north of home in support of its most recent album. Another fun fact: they were discovered by Kid Rock, although we're still not sure what, if anything, that really says about the band. Anyway, you can hate them today or hate them tomorrow, because the band's in town for two nights. — Jessica Petrocchi
Future Punx at Rubber Gloves
Like so many other of New York's current hip bands — including the Grantland-touted “last great New York band” — Future Punx's roots can be traced back to Denton, where its members Chris Pickering and Jason Kelly previous kicked around with outfits like Teenage Cool Kids and Fergus & Geronimo. The Thanksgiving holidays bring the band back home for a couple shows — they also played in Dallas a couple nights ago. For this one, Deep Throat, Bukkake Moms and Wiving open, ensuring the bill will be as interesting as it is varied. — CG
Modern Baseball at The Prophet Bar
Earlier this year the “lo-fi pop-rock” (read: emo) band played this same venue, opening for the much more popular The Wonder Years. It was a move that paid off, though, as the band's back and headlining the venue just a few months later. — CG
Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center
Did you know you could score seats to Stars games for just $20? Sure, they're in the so-called nosebleed sections, but everybody knows that's where real hockey fans prefer to sit, anyway. — CG
Saturday
Baylor vs Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium
Kliff Kingsbury's sorry Texas Tech team (4-7) won't be making the playoffs this year. On the other hand, Baylor, which is currently sitting on the outside looking in, is going to have lay a severe beating on the Red Raiders to lockdown a playoff spot of its own. — CG
Powerman 5000 at Trees
So this is what it's like when worlds collide? In all fairness, if we believed in guilty pleasures, we'd maybe thrust that designation on the band's cover of The Cars' “Good Times Roll.” But seriously, why should we feel guilty for not actively hating something? — CG
Devin the Dude at Granada Theater
A Devin the Dude show in Dallas isn't too rare a thing. The storied rapper resides in the not-so-far-away city of Houston, and, practically quarterly it seems, he makes his way to the Granada for a gig. To be fair, Devin's quite the draw around these parts. He's not just “your favorite rapper's favorite rapper,” he's your favorite stoner's favorite rapper, too. — Mikel Galicia
Dyro X Bassjackers at Lizard Lounge
English house producer/DJ duo Bassjackers is currently on the road with Dutch house DJ Dyro, with Amsterdam-based house DJ Kenneth G providing support. We're sensing a pattern. — CG
Denton Does The Band at Dan's Silverleaf
In what's becoming something of a Thanksgiving weekend tradition, a whole slew of Denton notables will band together to cover the catalog of Canada's greatest Americana outfit tonight. Last November's performance included appearances from Centro-matic's Scott Danbom, Satans of Soft Rock's Tony Ferraro, Descender's Jeffery Gruber, Slobberbone's Brent Best, Midlake's Eric Pulido, Isaac Hoskins and both members of RTB2, and we'd imagine you'll see a lot of those same characters at this one. — CG
Mad Max Marathon at Alamo Drafthouse
Before the new, Tom Hardy-led Mad Max installment comes out next May, get caught up on the once Mel Gibson-led franchise by watching them all at once. Brace yourself, it's going to be a long, explosion-fueled trip through post-apocalyptic Australia. — CG
Epic Ruins at The Where House
Before Oil Boom, Son of Stan or Quaker City Night Hawks were three of Fort Worth's most wildly popular acts — and WizardVizion Records was just a distant dream — there was Epic Ruins, the heavy, psych-rocking outfit that counted members of those bands among its ranks. This not only features Epic Ruins performing with its original lineup, but sets from Son of Stan and Bummer Vacation, too. — CG
!!! (DJ Set) at It'll Do Club
In case you've been wondering what a band known largely for its frontman's wild antics and goofy dance moves will throw down during a DJ set, we'll point you to this DJ mix the outfit posted to its SoundCloud page. Otherwise, expect plenty of dancing tonight, on both sides of the DJ booth. — CG
Design District Market at Community Beer Company
In addition to their regular Saturday open house, and in direct correlation with Small Business Saturday, Community Beer Co. will be hosting the Design District Market this afternoon. Aside from numerous local vendors, they'll have seven food trucks, three bands, and all of their award-winning beverages onsite for mass consumption. — CG
Hunter Hayes at Verizon Theatre
In 1998 the then six-year-old Hayes got one of his earliest tastes of fame when he performed Hank Williams' Jambalaya on the Nickelodeon game show Figure it Out. The best part of watching that clip — besides Hayes' ridiculously affected Creole accent — is the part where you realize the years have been far kinder to Hayes, a bonafide country superstar these days, than All That cast members Lori Beth Denberg, Josh Server, and Kel Mitchell who served as the episodes “celebrity” judges. Oh, and as a bonus, the badass Ashley Monroe opens this one. — CG
The Rocketboys at South Side Music Hall
Austin's The Rocketboys' usually melancholy, but sometimes insightful, melodic light rock might not be the thing for everybody. Those who enjoy piano-driven sophistication and references to October Sky, however, will be right at home at this show. — Chelsea Upton
SoMo at South Side Ballroom
The Dennison native, who got his start posting cover versions of popular songs to his YouTube page while living in Denton, has since moved on to bigger and better things. Earlier this spring, his solo debut reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200. Now he's headlining one of the larger rooms in town. — CG
James Bullough Does Dallas at Deep Ellum Brewing Co.
As thousands of folks were busy getting involved in physical altercations in attempts to land some discounted electronics, German artist James Bullough was putting his efforts toward a far more selfless cause, putting the finishing touches on a three-story mural on the west side of Trinity Groves — a piece he's been working on for nearly two weeks now. Even more interesting than the painting's subject matter, which depicts birds flying to freedom from a set of open hands, is the reason behind the mural's commission: According to Michael McPheeters, the founder of upstart Dallas non-profit Handle With Care Project, the mural is a statement piece for the organization, which aims to fight human trafficking through the arts. Tonight they'll celebrate the mural's unveiling with live music from French 75, George Quartz, Left/Right, Trespass and Michael Nite. — Melanie Shafranek
Thanksmas at Doc's Records and Vintage
Is it just us or do Small Business Saturday promotions seem to feature a lot less violence? On top of 20 percent off deals on records, Doc's Records' annual holiday get together will feature free food and booze and in-store performances from the likes of One Fingered Fist, Bummer Vacation, Bludded Head, Tidals, Nathan Brown, Jacob Furr and Dripping Wet. — CG
Sunday
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at Alamo Drafthouse
It's now been over 32 years since audiences were first exposed to an irate Captain James T. Kirk screaming “KHAAAAAAAAN!” at the top of his lungs. The film's memorable — and somewhat controversial — Spock death scene is frequently cited as one of the top moments in Star Trek history. By nerds mostly, but still. — CG
Fozzy at Trees
Fozzy (read: the heavy metal band fronted by WWE wrestler Chris Jericho) heads up this hard-rocking bill. What we like most about Jericho is his ability to continuously find jobs that don't require him to wear a shirt. Kudos to you, Y2J! — CG
Eighteen-Year Anniversary Party at Crown and Harp (Free)
In bar years, turning 18 is ancient. Most don't last nearly that long — hell, the nearby Glass Boot Biergarten made it all of six months before shuttering earlier this year. Still, even through all the changes the spot once known as The Cavern has gone through over the years, it's still the place to find the most forward thinking DJs and live music performances in town on just about any given night. To wit, today's free celebration will include appearances from Dark Rooms, The Chloes, Dead Mockingbirds, Austin Shooknite, Buffalo Black, Blue, the Misfit, -topic and Jenny Robinson. — CG
KISS-FM Jingle Ball at Verizon Theatre
During their four-year hiatus the members of Fall Out Boy learned a harsh lesson: nobody gives a crap about any of their solo projects. Frontman Patrick Stump admitted as much through a 1,500 word post on his blog in which he detailed what it's like to be a 27-year-old has-been. Stump, who also lost 60 pounds during the break, was pelted with comments like, “We liked you better fat,” throughout his failed 2012 solo tour. Together, though, they're still a force to be reckoned with in certain circles. The fact that last year's comeback album reached No. 1 on the charts proves as much. Today, though, they're just one of the big draws at KISS-FM's annual Jingle Ball show, which also features performances from Jason Derulo, MAGIC!, Jeremih, Echosmith, Meghan Trainor, Jake Miller and Nick Jonas. — CG
To find out what else is going on today, this week and beyond, check out our events page.
