The 10 Best Concerts of the Week: John Maus, Erykah Badu and More

This week catch lots of touring acts including synth-pop artist John Maus; rock 'n' roll legend Kiss; stoner rap outfit Cypress Hill; and alternative band Muse among others. Plenty of locals top the list as well, like Erykah Badu's sold-out birthday bash at The Bomb Factory on Friday night and Nervous Curtains' first show in six months at Backyard on Bell.


Singer-Songwriter Night with Josh Fleming
7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18 at Fort Worth Live, 306 N. Houston St., 817-945-8890 or fortworthlive.live, free

Joshua Fleming, vocalist and guitarist for local cowpunk sextet Vandoliers, recently began hosting a recurring gig to welcome new songwriters at Fort Worth Live. By sharing his knowledge of the music biz, Fleming hopes to help young musicians find their foothold in the industry. During this "songwriter's night," as he calls it, Fleming plays his music and considers it a great chance to try out new material for the audience. He also wants the Monday night sets to be a way for young songwriters to hone their craft and to network with local veteran musicians for potential collaborations. If you're looking to catch a first glimpse at some of the area's best up-and-coming singer-songwriters, this weekly gig is the place to be. Diamond Rodrigue


KISS
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20 at American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., $100 and up at ticketmaster.com

Billed as "The Final Tour Ever," the Kiss End of the Road World Tour is apparently the end of something. When a band talks more about itself being a brand with replaceable members, is this really the end of the road for Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons as the Starchild and Demon? Maybe, so it's an excuse for the band to play a bigger venue as a headliner for the first time in a number of years. At this point, the band is playing for the fans who never saw them back in the day or weren't born when Destroyer or even Revenge were released. Plenty of the best-known songs from the '70s will be played, as well as a smattering of post-makeup '80s tunes and a couple of songs from the 1990s. It's hard to say this will be the last Kiss tour, as they already went on one many years ago. Eric Grubbs


A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., $27.50

22-year-old Bronx rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is underrated and hungry. With a pillowy delivery, he swerves in and out of piano-heavy beats that fall neatly into the melodic trap styles bubbling up from the South, especially sing-song rappers like Kodak Black and Playboi Carti. Recently, A Boogie dipped into African and Latin rhythms, interweaving dancehall, reggaeton and Afrobeat into his party-rap formula. The results might be more fascinating than successful, but witnessing an artist with ravenous ambition searching the outer limits of his sound is exhilarating at the very least. Seeing it unfold live should be no less of a thrill. Jonathan Patrick


Nervous Curtains
with Mr. Breakfast, Helium Queens and Demandite, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22 at Backyard on Bell, 410 N. Bell Ave., $5

Dallas post-punk trio Nervous Curtains hasn't played a live show in six months. This week, they've got two. One opening for John Maus at Trees and the other in Denton at Backyard on Bell. Denton's gig sees them headline with help from Denton band Mr. Breakfast, Dallas' experimental trio Helium Queens and drone duo Demandite (featuring two members of Denton's Felt & Fur). DR


West Coast High ft. Cypress Hill and Hollywood Undead
7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22 at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., $35.50-$59.50 at houseofblues.com

A group like Cypress Hill doesn’t have to try very hard to get crowds moving. Between them being the first platinum-selling Latino-American hip-hop group in history and their iconic catalog of songs, it would be understandable to see them resting on their laurels. But these captains of cannabinoids have seemingly kept their ears open and their wits about them. In 2018 they released their ninth studio album, Elephants on Acid, eight years after the last mainline album from the Cypress Hill crew. The time spent focused on side projects and other ventures by B-Real, Sen Dog, DJ Muggs and Eric Bobo alike, clearly didn’t keep them from evolving their sound more than three decades after forming. Elephants on Acid is the aural equivalent of staring at a blacklight poster in your older cousin’s nag champa-scented room, as lyrically visceral as any Cypress Hill album before, but elevated musically by Middle Eastern flair and a mystically brooding atmosphere. Like a time capsule that never got buried, Cypress Hill in 2019 is both nostalgic and innovative. Nicholas Bostick


Super R&B Jam
with Tyrese, Ginuwine, Avant, Donnell Jones and 702, 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 at The Theatre at Grand Prairie, 1001 Performance Place, $59-$125

If the love doesn't feel like '90s R&B, do you even want it? Tonight's concert will give you all the '90s slow jams you need to get the mood going. Tyrese, Ginuwine, Donnell Jones and Avant make up the bill at The Theater at Grand Prairie. You'll remember hits like "Pony" and "Where I Wanna Be." DR


John Maus
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 at Trees, 2709 Elm St., $20 and up at treesdallas.com

John Maus’ raw passion on stage paired with his evocative lyrics, haunting howls and nigh-manic-style of tightly clenched fist-pumping and head-banging delivery burst with far more energy and emotion than a casual listener of his apocalyptic synth-pop may suggest. Early observers of Maus' unforgettable performances may have mistaken his stripped-down solo sets for experimental performance art, and some critics have written that he appears to be “in the middle of a nervous breakdown” while performing on stage. Following the release of 2017’s cerebral LP Screen Memories, as well as a collection of carefree tracks called Addendum in 2018, Maus transitioned from solo performances to touring with a full backing band. Then his brother and bandmate, bassist Joseph Maus, died in July 2018 while on tour, forcing the cancellation of many tour dates. Since then John again retooled his staging for the shows on his latest tour, which “will feature a new, augmented solo live performance, complete with several points of sound on stage and lights synced to midi,” according to a press release. Fittingly Dallas-based Nervous Curtains opens. Daniel Rodrigue


Erykah Badu
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 at The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., $76-$170 at stubhub.com

Local legend and R&B singer Erykah Badu will be back at The Bomb Factory for Another Badu Birthday. Celebrity guests such as Dave Chappelle, as well as local favorites Leon Bridges and Bobby Sessions have been known to make appearances at this annual event. Hosting the birthday party at The Bomb Factory has turned into a tradition since moving from the Granada Theater in 2016. The seemingly ageless Badu turns 48 this year. Recently, Badu faced criticism after she announced she was “putting up a prayer” for R. Kelly. However, this did not keep her event from being sold out. This year, the Badu Birthday is sure to keep up with its glamorous, star-studded reputation. Jacob Vaughn


Dropkick Murphys
6:45 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, at South Side Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar St., $35

American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys are on a 22-date tour this year. Stopping through Dallas once again around St. Patrick's Day, the band's career spans two decades and nine albums. The latest album, 11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory, came out in 2017 on the band's own label Born & Bred. DR


Muse
with Walk the Moon, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24 at American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave., $44 and up at ticketmaster.com

Muse has been on cruise control since they became an arena band in the United States. They're still a band that wants to play metal-tinged pop rock crossed with electronica and Queen-like pomp, but the music is a bit more arena-friendly now. People who loved them early in their career have moved on as Muse reached the heights they always wanted. Embracing dubstep and their hard-rock roots, they're a different band now. Their latest, Simulation Theory, arrived late last year, so expect the focus to be on songs from that, in addition to some older tunes. And visually, they're one of the more dazzling sort of bands out there. Laser lights and video projections are on a much more futuristic level with this band, and the results are quite amazing. Eric Grubbs