25 May 11–17, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents The Cure 7 P.M. SATURDAY, MAY 13, DOS EQUIS PAVILION, 1818 FIRST AVE. $31.80+ AT LIVENATION.COM From huge bands like Interpol to local acts like Sub-Sahara, it is difficult to find a band whose sad songs have escaped the reach of The Cure’s mas- sive influence. Formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex, The Cure emerged in a post-punk music scene that was looking to redefine itself. Though the band’s first album fit in with the new wave of synth-driven music, when singer Robert Smith met bass, keyboardist and occasional guitarist Si- mon Gallup in 1980, The Cure’s sound went dark, joining in with the legacy built by Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and Bauhaus in gothic rock. Seventeen Seconds from 1980, 1981’s Faith and 1982’s Pornography were enough to cement The Cure’s legacy and influence on the genre, but the hits just kept coming throughout the ’80s and ’90s. The band comes to town ahead of its highly anticipated new album Songs of a Lost World, which has yet to be given a release date. Scottish post-punk band The Twilight Sad will be there to warm up the crowd. DAVID FLETCHER Cursive 7 P.M. SATURDAY, MAY 13, THE KESSLER, 1230 W. DAVIS ST. $24 AT PREKINDLE.COM All the way back in the year 2000, a band from Omaha, Nebraska, released its third album, Do- mestica, on a little hometown label called Saddle Creek. It was the second album Cursive had re- leased on the label and the 31st album the label released. The 32nd album on the same label would be Bright Eyes’ Fevers and Mirrors, and be- tween the two albums, the little label from Omaha would transform into the indie label to shop by in the early 2000s. Domestica put Cur- sive on the map as a post-hardcore, indie rock opera based loosely on singer Tim Kasher’s failed relationship and subsequent divorce. Considered an emo classic to this day, Domestica is getting the 20th anniversary tour treatment when Cur- sive comes to Oak Cliff this Saturday to play the album in its entirety with the same lineup that re- corded it (with the addition of cello and key- boards). Fellow Omaha indie band and Saddle Creek labelmate Neva Dinova opens the show. DF Boyz II Men 7 P.M. SUNDAY, MAY 14, TEXAS TRUST CU THEATRE, 1001 TEXAS TRUST WAY, $39+ AT AXS.COM Returning to North Texas for the third edition of their annual Celebration for Mom, Boyz II Men play Sunday at Texas Trust CU Theatre with Tamia and Kenny Lattimore. What could be bet- ter on Mother’s Day than seeing the group that gave us the Babyface-produced single “A Song for Mama”? That was the last Top 10 single Boyz II Men had before they faded out of the bright light that had shined on the group throughout the ’90s. Boyz II Men was central to the rise of new jack swing, which hit airwaves and ear- drums with a drum-heavy sound with multi-lay- ered sampled backdrops in the summer of 1991. From then until 1998, with mega-hit singles like “Motownphilly,” “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” and “Water Runs Dry,” Boyz II Men could do no wrong. After their label Motown Re- cords was bought by Universal Music Group, Boyz II Men was never quite able to regain that hit-making magic but remain every bit as soulful to this day. DF Coheed and Cambria 7 P.M. MONDAY, MAY 15, HOUSE OF BLUES, 2200 N. LAMAR ST. $62.68+ AT LIVENATION.COM While many bands from emo’s radio age were mostly just flavors of the week with no real stay- ing power, Coheed and Cambria was like the Rush of its time. Like its forebears, Coheed and Cambria spun epic tales, supported by even more epic instrumentals and fronted by the incredible falsetto of singer Claudio Sanchez. Best known for their seven-album sequence that told the story of The Armory Wars — an incredibly com- plex sci-fi story that expanded upon Sanchez’s series of comic books of the same name — Co- heed and Cambria had their biggest successes with the second and third albums, In Keeping Se- crets of Silent Earth: 3 and Good Apollo, I’m Burn- ing Star IV. The band released one album in 2015 that had nothing to do with The Armory Wars, but they’re back at it with a new series continuing the storyline: 2018’s Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures and last year’s Vaxis – Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind. Deafheaven opens. DF Violent Femmes 7 P.M. TUESDAY, MAY 16, HOUSE OF BLUES, 2200 N. LAMAR ST. $74+ AT LIVENATION.COM So-called “alternative music” was in its infancy in 1983. While the true definition of “alternative mu- sic” has always been the subject of debate, the best answer is that it’s “alternative” to the main- stream. And, in 1983, there wasn’t anything more alternative to the mainstream than a whiny-voiced singer with sarcastic lyrics quavering over punk music played with acoustic instruments. The Vio- lent Femmes’ self-titled first album was so alterna- tive that it took years for anyone to notice it. Released by Slash Records on vinyl and cassette in 1983, it wasn’t until the CD version was released in 1987 when the album started receiving any sub- stantial radio play, but the hit single “Blister in the Sun” helped propel the little album’s sales to plati- num status. Forty years later, Violent Femmes come to Victory Park to play the classic album from cover to cover after an opening set from Bos- ton singer-songwriter Jesse Ahern. DF Ian Gavan/Getty Images The Cure plays Saturday at Dos Equis Pavilion. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music since 1978! New Location! 609 N Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75201 SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN TICKETS
