Instead of Coldplay, go see Kraftwerk.
It’s not Coldplay’s fault that their Super Bowl halftime show from earlier this year is now, and always will be, remembered as Beyoncé’s Super Bowl halftime show. In the past four decades of pop music, there are only a handful of performers who could hold their own against the apex predator version of Beyoncé. Chris Martin and company couldn’t, and that’s okay. I know it’s not fashionable, but I do like Coldplay, and I like them even better live. After that Super Bowl gig, however, I’m thinking that AT&T Stadium (Aug. 27) might swallow them. No shame in that; it did the same to U2 a few years back. My suggestion: wait for the inevitable live Blu-ray and check out one of their influences—“Talk,” from 2005’s X&Y, borrowed its hook from Kraftwerk’s 1981 jam “Computer Love”—in a much more intimate setting (The Bomb Factory, Sept. 10).
Instead of Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas, go see Tegan and Sara.
Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas have both pretty successfully made the transition from G-rated cogs in the Disney star machine to legit, grown-up, sex-having pop stars. That is not easy. But mostly that transition is a matter of updating lyrical content, taking those tween-appropriate crushes a little further, with the built-in advantage that most of your fans are growing up with you and not expecting or wanting hand-holding, either literally or figuratively. Tegan and Sara have done something even tougher. The Canadian twin-sister act put out albums of a particular style of music (guitar-based, folk-leaning indie rock) for more than a decade and then completely switched to a new one (shiny, synth-heavy pop). They started the move on 2013’s Heartthrob, and take it even further on the brand-new Love You to Death, beating the likes of Lovato and Jonas at their own game.
Instead of the Summerland Tour (Sugar Ray/Everclear/Lit/Sponge), go see blink-182.
If you’re really excited to see anyone on the Summerland Tour (Billy Bob’s, Aug. 19), I fear there is no way to get between you and your nostalgia. I mean, it’s not the worst lineup. Everclear’s catalog has its moments, Sponge is maybe a bit underrated by those who only know them from their minor hits off 1994’s Rotting Piñata, Lit has a few guiltily enjoyable songs, and Sugar Ray—you know, I’m not going to even try with them. But you could get that same throwback summer feeling in a more concentrated dose by going to see blink-182 (Gexa Energy Pavilion, July 29). They have almost as many hits as the combined total of the other bill, and, better, they’re still making fairly interesting music, with the recent addition of Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba on guitar. Given the choice, I’ll always pick a band facing forward over one taking long looks over its shoulder.
Instead of case/lang/veirs, go see Wye Oak.
This is a tough one, because you actually should go see Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs when they play the Winspear Opera House (Aug. 4). That is a powerhouse trio of singers who would be hard to top by any other combination. I know I said “instead of” and it is my own dumb rule I’m breaking, but in this case, what I really should say is “in addition to” case/lang/veirs, go see Wye Oak at Club Dada (Aug. 10). The duo of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack needs your attention. Wye Oak is not exactly a secret, but it’s not as well-known as it should be; the band only gets better, and the bookings remain the same. It’s a privilege to see Wasner (and hear her entrancing voice) and Stack in the smaller confines of Dada, but it’s one I would gladly give up to have them receive their due.
A version of this article appears in the July issue of D Magazine.
