17 January 16 - 22, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Dweezil Zappa 8 P.M. THURSDAY, JAN. 16, THE FACTORY IN DEEP ELLUM, 2713 CANTON ST. $49+ AT AXS.COM The second of Frank Zappa’s four children, Dweezil — born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, if you please — is back on the road after a pan- demic-induced hiatus, and bringing with him a unique perspective on two of his late father’s re- cords, both of which turned 50 years old in 2024: Roxy & Elsewhere and Apostrophe (‘). The combination of LPs gives the tour its name — the Rox(Postroph)y tour — as well as some of its structure. Dweezil Zappa said in press materials the sets will feature work from both releases, al- beit somewhat recast in “unique hybrid arrange- ments,” an approach his relentlessly inventive dad would doubtless appreciate. “The songs you think you know may just end up surprising you with parts you’ve never heard before,” Dweezil Zappa said in a statement. PRESTON JONES Rod Wave 7 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN. 18, AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER, 2500 VICTORY AVE. $79+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM It is a quick return for the man born Rodarius Green. The trap-soul-popularizing rapper, singer and songwriter Rod Wave just headlined Ameri- can Airlines Center at the beginning of Novem- ber, and just 77 days later, he’s back for the second leg of his “Last Lap” tour, in support of his sixth and latest studio album, Last Lap, which dropped in October. Of Wave’s first trip through town, Observer critic Bryson “Boom” Paul wrote: “Wave’s music is marked by pain and suf- fering, but when the audience sang the songs in unison, it felt like a healing experience between Wave and his audience. Fans continued singing every word from his catalog the entire night as if he were a conductor and the massive crowd his orchestra.” Moneybagg Yo, Toosii, Lil Poppa, Dess Dior and Eelmatic will open. PJ Ani DiFranco 8 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN. 18, GRANADA THEATER, 3524 GREENVILLE AVE. $39+ AT PREKINDLE.COM Perseverance, thy name is Ani DiFranco. For the better part of three decades, the singer-song- writer has released more than 20 albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe, while also making time for passionate activism, a memoir and most recently, a stint on Broadway as Perse- phone in Hadestown. Her most recent LP, Un- precedented Sh!t, dropped last year, and was accompanied by a Dana Flor-directed docu- mentary, 1-800-On-Her-Own. Her seemingly ceaseless buzz of activity — not to mention the depth and breadth of her influence — is a means to an end: “I guess a part of me, maybe on some level, feels I have to prove I’m not done,” she told NPR in 2024. “I’m not a singer from the ‘90s. I’m right here and I’m still making art.” Joy Clark will open. PJ Phantogram 7 P.M. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22, HOUSE OF BLUES, 2200 N. LAMAR. $56+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM New York duo Phantogram — Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter — have sustained a nearly two-de- cade career on the strength of songs which don’t fit neatly into prescribed genres. The band itself has characterized its output as everything from “street beat psych-pop” to “dream pop” and “electronic rock” — there is value in being stylisti- cally elusive, it would seem. The pair’s latest al- bum, Memory of a Day, arrived in October, coming four years after 2020’s Ceremony. To support Day, Phantogram has embarked on its “Running Through Colors” tour, and despite all the band has achieved to date, it still feels like it’s a scrappy upstart. “There’s a lot more to accom- plish,” Carter told the Aquarian in December. “I’m excited about that, but we still pinch ourselves. ... We worked our way up organically. We think about all the milestones we made growing as a band and touring with other artists.” With GLU. PJ Kenny G 8 P.M. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22, MAJESTIC THEATRE, 1925 ELM ST. $49+ AT AXS.COM To anyone for whom Kenny G is still a reliable, even automatic punchline, we’d invite you to watch the 2021 documentary Listening to Kenny G. While you may still come away at its conclu- sion utterly dismissive of the kabillion-selling saxophonist and all he represents, what you won’t be able to say is that you’re unfamiliar with how he got to that position. Relentless fine- tuning his performance — the schtick and the songs alike — and maintaining a deceptively light-hearted attitude to both the peaks and val- leys are crucial reasons why the 68-year-old has remained a reliable draw for over 40 years. Al- though it’s been a solid three decades since he last cracked heavy rotation (sue us, but “Forever in Love” still slaps), Kenny G has continued to steadily tour and record, most recently dropping his 19th studio album, Innocence, in 2023. PJ Andrew Sherman Phantogram is touring behind its latest album, Memory of a Day. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music
