10 Best Concerts of the Week: Toadies, Kid Cudi, Duran Duran and More

This week as North Texas begins to feel the first winds of fall, concertgoers can look forward to a concert week as unpredictable as the weather. The week kicks off with Toadies warming up for its fall tour in Arlington, while Joyce Manor brings emo back to life in Deep Ellum. On Friday, fans can spend the day waiting for an iconic punk band in Dallas or dance the night away in Victory Park. Jack Johnson comes to town on Sunday to give music fans a peaceful break before a decision between hip-hop, new wave and country needs to be made on Tuesday. Finally, on Wednesday, indie-rocker Courtney Barnett comes to town with a group of artists hand-picked for her Dallas audience. From ’90s alt-rock to trap-metal, there is something for everyone or everything for someone this week.

Toadies
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, Lava Cantina, 5805 Grandscape Blvd., Arlington. $10+ at eventbrite.com

Gearing up for a long stretch touring in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their iconic album, Rubberneck, in the fall, Fort Worth alternative band Toadies kicks off a small stretch of dates this Thursday at Lava Cantina in Arlington. In a recent podcast, bass player Doni Blair revealed that the band will be releasing a new EP, Damn You All to Hell, before heading out on tour, and later in the year, the band has plans to record new material with legendary producer Steve Albini. For this concert, however, Toadies will just be the band from around the way, playing to a North Texas fanbase that has loved them long before they ever graced the airwaves of 94.5 The Edge. Fans can look forward to hearing songs from across the band’s catalog, although with the Rubberneck tour around the corner, one might expect to hear a lot from that album. Dallas band Motorcade, comprised of members of St. Vincent, The Deathray Davies and Baboon, opens the show.

Joyce Manor
6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, The Studio at The Factory, 2727 Canton St. $30 at axs.com

California emo revival act Joyce Manor returns to North Texas this weekend supporting its summer release, 40 oz. to Fresno. The band has a history of releasing albums that are big on quality and short on quantity. On average, their albums clock in at around 20 minutes in length, and 40 oz. to Fresno is among the shortest, with nine tracks clocking in at just under 17 minutes. Initially titled Hungover Again, the album was intended to be a nod to the band’s breakthrough record, 2014’s Never Hungover Again, but lead singer Barry Johnson changed his mind when his phone autocorrected a text message he send to a friend while listening to Sublime’s classic 40 oz. to Freedom record. Joyce Manor’s show Thursday night will receive opening support from fellow emo revivalist Citizen as well as Prince Daddy & the Hyena and PHONY.

Fear
4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, Amplified Live, 10261 Technology Blvd. E. $35+ at seetickets.us

With all the hubbub about the Misfits coming to town in October, everyone seems to be forgetting the other equally influential punk band that is coming to North Texas, Fear. Since the band’s earliest days, Fear has been unabashedly punk rock to its core after making a name for themselves on the L.A. hardcore scene and catching the ear of then-Saturday Night Live cast member John Belushi. Belushi helped arrange for the band to play on the SNL stage during the 1981 Halloween show. When they did play, the slam-dancers they invited along with them caused $20,000 in damage. They may have been banned from SNL, but Fear showed the nation who they were without compromise, and 40 years later, that attitude has not changed. The band will play their classic album, The Record, in full after a full day of performances by Voodoo Glow Skulls, Bow Wow Wow, Teenage Bottlerocket, Dog Party, Skatenigs, Mutha Falcon and Noogy.

Swedish House Mafia
7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave. $25+ at ticketmaster.com

Swedish House Mafia, a Swedish house music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, have been at it for nearly a decade now, but the three-piece outfit only recently released its first studio album, Paradise Again. In the years building up to the album, Swedish House Mafia created a name for themselves by touring the world with breathtaking dance beats as a collective that included DJ Eric Prydz. When the group formed an official band, Prydz decided not to join. The group released two compilation albums, two EPs and two live albums before calling it quits in 2014, only to return with a massive reunion tour in 2019. Working with artists from the worlds of hip-hop, rock and R&B, Swedish House Mafia showcases the talent of each of its members across 17 skillfully-produced tracks on the new album, and they are ready to show North Texas what they have Friday night.

$uicideboy$
6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, Dos Equis Pavilion, 1818 First Ave. $35+ at livenation.com

Call them punk-rap, trap-metal or whatever you like, since 2014 $uicideboy$ have become one of the most popular acts in the underground rap scene, earning a devout cult following that has gotten the group out of the clubs and into Dos Equis Pavilion. $uicideboy$ started their journey to the top as SoundCloud rappers, releasing dozens of mixtapes and EPs filled with abrasive beats and confessional lyrics about substance abuse, self-harm and Satan worship. Lyrical content like that has certainly made the New Orleans duo a lightning rod for controversy in recent years, but as with any artists who become pariahs to overprotective parents, $uicideboy$’s artistry overpowers its controversy. For their fans, $uicideboy$’s lyrics and music are about catharsis – a kind of international group therapy built around music that may not be happy but is honest.

Jack Johnson
6:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, Dos Equis Pavilion, 1818 First Ave. $41.50+ at livenation.com

If it feels like it’s been forever since you heard anything about indie-surf musician Jack Johnson, there’s a reason for that. The artist hasn’t released much of anything since 2017’s All the Light Above It Too. While Johnson has kept himself busy in music since then, this year’s Meet the Moonlight marked his first full-length album of new material in five years. The album has sold well since its release in June, but it has yet to garner the same acclaim as Johnson’s earlier work. Still, a listen through the album shows Johnson doing what he does best, laying down mellow grooves to relax the body and mind – an especially welcome addition to any music collection in these trying times. Johnson’s personal friend and fellow traveler in the making of peaceful music, Ziggy Marley, opens the show Sunday night. Marley’s most recent album, More Family Time, was released in 2020.

Kid Cudi
6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave. $40+ at ticketmaster.com

Kid Cudi seems to have been everywhere in the last few years. Aside from his work as a rapper, Cudi has made appearances in much-talked-about films Bill and Ted Face the Music and Don’t Look Up. In July, the rapper released his first collection of greatest hits, titled The Bot Who Flew to the Moon, which includes 18 tracks from across his career, beginning with the now-classic hip-hop song “Day ‘n’ Night (Nightmare)” from 2008. Cudi’s latest effort is a soundtrack for his upcoming animated series on Netflix, Entergalactic. Due out in late September, the Entergalactic soundtrack has been largely under wraps, with Cudi releasing only one single from the album in June, “Do What I Want.” Only two other songs have been confirmed for the album; we may hear more this Tuesday night.

Duran Duran
6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, Dickie’s Arena, 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth. $41+ at ticketmaster.com

Coming out of the 1980s British New Romantic scene –  one that included Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls and Culture Club – Duran Duran outlasted their one-hit counterparts in the U.S. by creating some of the most enduring dance music of all time. A favorite in the early days of MTV, Duran Duran caught eyes and ears with their music videos, beginning with a heavily edited version of the video for “Girls on Film.” The band continued to release music throughout the ’80s, though with diminishing success in the decade’s later years. All that changed when they released their self-titled album, commonly referred to as The Wedding Album, in 1993. It was then that Duran Duran had officially escaped the fate of so many flash-in-the-pan new wave groups and established themselves as a band with a storied past and hopeful future. The band has released seven albums since then, including last year’s deeply emotional album, Future Past.

Steve Earle & The Dukes
7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. $46+ at prekindle.com

As far as Texas country musicians go, none get much bigger than Steve Earle, who began his music career alongside Guy Clark, writing and playing bass on Clark’s 1975 album Old No. 1. Earle’s songwriting prowess has never waned. From his most well-known album Copperhead Road to his most recent album of originals, Ghost of West Virginia, Earle’s music is a living testament to what makes Texas country so different and so powerful. Earle’s show with his band, The Dukes, comes through The Kessler in support of his latest tribute album, this time to Jerry Jeff Walker. This is the fourth of such tribute albums, following Townes in 2009, Guy in 2019 and the tribute to his fallen son Justin Townes Earle on J.T. early last year. Roots musicians The Whitmore Sisters open the show.

Courtney Barnett
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, The Factory in Deep Ellum, 2713 Canton St. $31+ at axs.com

Australian indie-rocker Courtney Barnett returns to Dallas next week as part of her Here and There Festival. The event has a unique concept in that it isn’t a festival as much as it is a 15-city tour with varied opening acts in each city. Barnett developed the concept through her love of curating playlists of imagined festivals. As Barnett has gotten to know American cities and the music communities therein, she began imagining what the perfect lineup might look like in each city. For instance, Barnett’s Portland show will also host Northwest rock band Sleater-Kinney, indie-rocker Waxahatchee and Portlandia‘s Fred Armisen. Barnett’s show Wednesday night in Dallas, however, will receive opening support from Southern indie singer Indigo De Souza and the catchy Britpop stylings of Wet Leg, who had the breakout hit “Chaise Longue” last summer. It’s not entirely clear what Barnett is trying to say with this lineup in Dallas, but it’s clear she knows we like to keep things exciting.