24 July 11 - 17, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Cage the Elephant 6:30 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 13, DICKIES ARENA, 1911 MONTGOMERY ST. $75+ AT TICKETMASTER.COM Cage the Elephant may not be known for having the biggest hits around, but anyone who has seen the band in concert knows that this is the kind of band that always brings it live. This sum- mer finds Cage the Elephant on a headlining tour in support of its May release Neon Pill, tour- ing with support from indie-rock band Young the Giant, indie-pop singer Bakar and singer- songwriter Willow Avalon. The band’s sixth al- bum was its first after a five-year break — the longest time the band has spent between al- bums since its debut in 2008. The album sees the band returning to the laid-back style that we first saw in its first single “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” while also incorporating more ele- ments from indie-pop, giving the band an up- dated feeling to a familiar formula. DAVID FLETCHER Pedro the Lion 7 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 13, TULIPS, 112 ST. LOUIS AVE. $27.50 AT SEETICKETS.US Formed by multi-instrumentalist David Bazan in 1995, Pedro the Lion began as an entirely solo project with Bazan playing nearly every instru- ment on the band’s first EP and following two full-length albums. For about 10 years, Bazan would play with a rotating cast of musicians to bring the project to life for another two albums and four EPs, but in January 2006, Bazan dis- solved the Pedro the Lion project to pursue his solo work again. The project lay dormant until 2017 when Bazan announced that the project would return with drummer Sean Lane and gui- tarist Erik Walters. The band has released two albums as a trio, including the band’s 2019 al- bum, Phoenix, and 2022’s Havasu. Those albums were the first two in a planned pentalogy, each representing a different town where Bazan spent his childhood. For this show, Pedro the Lion will support the third album in that pental- ogy, Santa Cruz, with opener Flock of Dimes. DF New Kids on the Block 7 P.M. SUNDAY, JULY 14, DOS EQUIS PAVILION, 1818 FIRST AVE. $41.75 AT LIVENATION.COM New Kids on the Block will bring back the early ‘90s this Sunday along with opening acts Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff. New Kids was first as- sembled in the mid-’80s, intended to be the white counterpart of the wildly successful R&B group New Edition. Donnie Wahlberg was the group’s first member, hired for his skills as a rap- per. His brother Mark was actually a member of the group for a few months before deciding against it, making room for Donnie’s high school friends Jamie Kelly, Danny Wood and Jordan Knight as well as Knight’s older brother. After Kelly left the group, 12-year-old Joey McIntyre was recruited for his Michael Jackson-esque voice. The lineup was solid, but it did not see success until the second single, “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” off second album Hangin’ Tough, was released in November of 1988. The group saw a few years of success before breaking up in 1994, but nostalgia brought them back together in 2008. The band is touring to support its May 2024 release, Still Kids. DF GZA and Inspectah Deck 8 P.M. SUNDAY, JULY 14, TREES, 2709 ELM ST. $40 AT AXS.COM So, it may just be one-quarter of the greatest hip-hop collective to ever grace the stage, but any opportunity to see any member of the leg- endary Wu-Tang Clan is an opportunity that should be taken. GZA, The Genius, is one of the Clan’s founding members and is known to be the spiritual leader of the group, whereas In- spectah Deck is known to be the group’s quiet one, inspecting everything before applying his intricate lyricism. While both rappers have seen success in their solo careers, neither has put out anything for some time. Since 2010, GZA has been working on an album about spacetime, the universe and physics, called Dark Matter, while Inspectah Deck has spent his time away from the Clan with another collective, Czarface, with rappers 7L and Esoteric. Together, the two are sure to put on a more mellow show than those for which the entire collective is known. DF Afroman 5:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, LAVA CANTINA, 5805 GRANDSCAPE BLVD. $15+ AT EVENTBRITE.COM Iconic rapper and 2024 presidential candidate Afroman makes a midweek stop in The Colony. Sure, you may only know his song “Because I Got High” from the time it was absolutely freak- ing everywhere in 2001, but honestly, Afroman knows that. In fact, his 2014 single “One Hit Wonder” is about that exactly. That is why you may be quite surprised to find out that, since the release of “Because I Got High,” Afroman has re- leased 16 or so albums and a galaxy of singles including a collaboration with Houston rapper Devin the Dude, “Gas.” Though you may have forgotten about him, Afroman remains as irrev- erent and humorous as ever with live shows that are wildly entertaining. Afroman is a performer through and through, and he is certain to show concertgoers a good time, no matter their famil- iarity with his deep cuts. DF Mike Brooks Cage the Elephant plays Saturday, July 13, at Dickies Arena. | LET’S DO THIS | t Music We can’t live without in 2024 view the full list here