April’s caught an unfair rap as the so-called “cruelest month.” We’re downright fond of April. With Bruce Springsteen coming to town and an expanded edition of the Dallas Book Festival, how could we not be? In fact, this has to be one of the kindest months we’ve ever seen.
Music
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Apr. 5, 7 pm
Bruce Springsteen hasn’t released a classic album since 2002’s 9/11 memorial, The Rising. Maybe, if you’re feeling generous, 2007’s Magicmight sneak a song or two onto a list of his finest moments. (His most recent album, 2014’s scattered High Hopes, only matters if you’re eitherRolling Stone founder Jann Wenner or you work for him.) Point is, it’s long past time to consider him a great songwriter in the present tense. It happens. But Springsteen, still in fighting shape at 66, was made for the play-the-hits phase of his career, heading up a rolling thunder revue that digs into his estimable legacy night after night. Onstage, he’s still capable of surprises—his last Dallas show, two years ago, opened with a cover of Van Halen’s “Jump”—and is still very much The Boss. This gig, his only one in Texas, will center on his 1980 album The River, recently reissued and expanded. American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave.
Music
Vice Palace: Year Two
Apr. 30 & May 1
Arthur Peña’s Vice Palace—part mobile music venue, part community art project, part social mixer for Dallas’ music and art scenes—is celebrating its second anniversary with its biggest show to date. Armed with a grant from the city, Vice Palace will release cassette tapes of recordings of local musicians at past showcases, with each tape hand-painted and transformed into a listenable work of art. A diverse lineup of Dallas artists, including Sealion, Dezi 5, and Slim Gravy (formerly of A.Dd+), will perform. RBC, 2617 Commerce St.
Music
M83
Apr. 8, 7 pm
Since M83 released its acclaimed 2011 album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, fans of Anthony Gonzalez’s French electronic act have mostly been hurrying up and waiting. With a new record of shimmering, synth-soaked pop songs and an accompanying tour finally coming this year, we’re about to learn how patience can pay off. The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St.
Happenings
Dallas Art Fair
Apr. 14–17
April started to become the dominant month of Dallas’ cultural calendar when the Dallas Art Fair debuted in 2008. Last year, the expo featured nearly 100 galleries and art dealers from around the world, exhibiting works in every conceivable medium. Some will wonder what the fair’s existence says about the health of Dallas’ art scene and its place in the international art community and various other things. That’s fine. It’s also a great way to spend an afternoon. Fashion Industry Gallery, 1807 Ross Ave.
Museums/Galleries
Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty
Apr. 15–Aug. 14
The godfather of modern fashion photography is remembered today for his innovative, less-is-more portraits of models and celebrities in Vogue. Penn’s camera also found the beauty in cigarette butts, frozen food, and painted lips. This retrospective features more than 140 photographs illustrating the breadth of the late artist’s work. Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St.
Happenings
David Cross
Apr. 23, 7 pm
Cross has kept busy with televised work, reuniting with Mr. Show copilot Bob Odenkirk for a Netflix series (W/ Bob & David) and reprising his role as the never-nude (there are dozens of them) analyst-therapist Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development. It’s been more than six years since Cross hit the road for a stand-up tour, however, and we look forward to seeing whether this “Making America Great Again!” jaunt can match the hilarious lunacy of a presidential campaign with a similar slogan.Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St.
Music
Beach House
Apr. 9, 7 pm
Beach House has filled bigger and bigger venues over the last decade, but the dream-pop duo has never stopped sounding like it’s playing a candlelit séance in your living room. In 2015, Beach House released two beautiful albums—the hypnotic Depression Cherry and its twin, Thank Your Lucky Stars—that further honed the band’s trance-like sound. The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St.
Theater/Dance
Deferred Action
Apr. 20–May 14
A world premiere co-production from the Dallas Theater Center and Cara Mía Theatre Co., Deferred Action follows a young Latino immigrant living in legal limbo in the United States. The play examines the harsh reality behind the DREAM Act, and a situation that—for many undocumented residents growing up in Texas—can feel like a bureaucratic nightmare fit to give Kafka the shivers. Wyly Theatre, 2400 Flora St.
Music
Justin Bieber
Apr. 10, 6 pm
With 2015’s Purpose, Bieber may have had his Justin Timberlake moment, completing the metamorphosis from critically reviled teen star to beloved Top 40 treasure. With an arsenal of new, grown-up pop songs, the millions of records sold and countless screaming teenagers finally feel—ahem—Justified. American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave.
Happenings
David Sedaris
Apr. 27–29
The celebrity writer is a dying breed, but this mild-mannered humorist is a rock star to anyone who’s needed something funny from the airport bookstore. He’ll read from his most recent essay collection, Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls, and is set to share some unpublished material for the true Sedaris diehards. Dallas City Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St.
Happenings
Dallas Book Festival
Apr. 30
Speaking of big-name writers, a number of them are coming to town for a bigger, better version of this one-day literary celebration at the downtown library. They include Lawrence Wright (Going Clear), Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep), Adam Mansbach (Go the F— to Sleep), and Dallas’ own David Ritz, the finest ghostwriter in the business. The day-long event is free. J. Erik Jonsson Public Library, 1515 Young St.
Music
Savages
Apr. 11, 7 pm
Everything about Savages is severe, from its sound—a violent post-punk squall punctuated by singer Jehnny Beth’s full-volume exhortations—to the English band’s insistence that its music be given the attention it deserves (Savages admirably, and uncompromisingly, ensured phones stayed in pockets on its last tour). With its newest album, which has the deceptively cheerful title Adore Life, the band shows a softer side without giving up a bit of raw power. Trees, 2709 Elm St.
Museums/Galleries
FOCUS: Thomas Demand
Apr. 30–Jul. 17
Demand photographs paper-and-cardboard re-creations of infamous locations, stripping each scene of the elements that made it so notorious in the first place. Imagine the empty patio at Whitey Bulger’s Santa Monica hideout, or Matisse’s cluttered studio. The German artist’s work deconstructs photography’s supposed authenticity, casting journalistic and historical images in a disconcerting new light. Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth.
Music
Off the Rails Country Music Fest
Apr. 23 & 24
The dozen Frisco history buffs out there should be thrilled to see a festival named in tribute to the city’s historical origin as a water and fuel stop for trains on the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. Everyone else may be more intrigued by an all-star country music lineup that includes Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Chris Young, and Sam Hunt. Toyota Stadium, 9200 World Cup Way, Frisco.
Theater/Dance
Dallas Black Dance Theatre II: Spring Fiesta
Apr. 8 & 9
Youth doesn’t always equal talent, but the two combine to great effect with Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, the semiprofessional spinoff of DBDT founded in 2000. For this show, the company revives an old favorite (Inside the Absence of Fear, by Broadway star Ray Mercer) and showcases its in-house talent with choreography by resident Richard A. Freeman Jr. and DBDT alum Edmond Giles. Dallas City Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St.
Music
Kurt Vile
Apr. 16, 8 pm
Although Vile shares Neil Young’s penchant for warm acoustic guitars and bleary vocals, the Pennsylvania singer-songwriter lacks his similarly shaggy predecessor’s mean streak. Disregard the name—Vile is downright pleasant. His best albums, including the amiably stonedWakin’ on a Pretty Daze and the introspective b’lieve i’m going down, are some of music’s most convincing arguments for the power of navel-gazing. Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave.
Theater/Dance
TITAS Presents Kidd Pivot
Apr. 21 & 22
A conceptual melting pot of theater, music, and visual art, Kidd Pivot’s performances have been hailed as a synthesis of all that is weird and adventurous in contemporary dance. The Canadian company’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest drew favorable comparisons to science fiction and horror films. Dallas City Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St.
Happenings
Dominic Smith: Dutch Masters and Deceit
Apr. 5, 7:30 pm
Maybe it’s just the bad taste still lingering in our mouths from the phenomenon sparked by The Da Vinci Code, but we were initially skeptical of a new novel centered, in part, on a piece of fictional art history. Fortunately, Dominic Smith’s The Last Painting of Sara De Vosbears hardly any resemblance to Dan Brown’s godawful book, and author Ben Fountain further allayed our fears by calling it “one of the best novels” he has ever read. Fountain and Smith will both speak at this event in the DMA’s Horchow Auditorium. Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St.
Music
Duran Duran and Chic
Apr. 19, 5:30 pm
Duran Duran was the MTV-ready pretty face of the Second British Invasion of the 1980s, but the band’s appeal went deeper than its bedazzling and admittedly stylish surface gloss. The group aspired to more than hipness, and its artful pop has aged better than its look. (We do, however, maintain that the video for “Hungry Like the Wolf” holds up). Nile Rodgers—your kids know him as the guitarist on Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”—and his band Chic, disco’s greatest gift to the world, open.American Airlines Center, 2500 Victory Ave.
Theater/Dance
Ghost Quartet
Apr. 7–9
Described by its creator as a “song cycle about love, death, and whiskey,” this musical theater show takes its supernatural inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s spookiest work. In the grand tradition of scary stories told around a campfire, Ghost Quartet is staged in the round, giving its eerie elements a certain immediacy. Life in Deep Ellum, 2803 Taylor St.
Happenings
Skip Hollandsworth: The Hunt for America’s First Serial Killer
Apr. 19, 7:30 pm
Heard the one about the supposed serial killer who prowled around Austin in the early 1880s, leaving bodies and scandals in his violent wake? Yeah, neither had we. Fortunately, Texas Monthly executive editor Skip Hollandsworth is on the case with his new nonfiction book, The Midnight Assassin. The journalist will discuss that and more in the DMA’s Horchow Auditorium. Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St.
Music
Something Wonderful Festival
Apr. 23
We can’t imagine there’s much overlap between NASCAR supporters and electronic dance music fans, but you need a racetrack-size venue to fit the kind of crowds that will show up for EDM icon Tiësto and a lineup of other globe-trotting DJs. Replace the sound of roaring engines with a persistent drumbeat, and the smell of burning rubber with a pungent sweat-and-sunscreen scent, and you have the Something Wonderful Festival. Texas Motor Speedway, 3545 Lone Star Circle, Fort Worth.
Opera
The Billy Goats Gruff
Apr. 16, 12:30 pm
Taking your kids to this family-friendly opera makes you a good parent for these three reasons. One: your child will become more cultured with early exposure to a rich art form. Two: its strong anti-bullying message will make your child a hero in the schoolyard. Three: The Billy Goats Gruff, in a certain light, is all about the importance of staying in school. Go ahead and buy your “Parent of the Year” mug now. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St.
Happenings
Padma Lakshmi: Food and Family
Apr. 8, 7:30 pm
The Top Chef host “dishes” (do you see what we, and probably many other hack writers, did there?) on eating, traveling, and her new memoir.Love, Loss, and What We Ate is more soul-searching autobiography than cookbook, but, in literature as in life, food plays a key role. First United Methodist Church of Dallas, 1928 Ross Ave.
Music
The Dallas Opera Orchestra
Apr. 24, 2 pm
See the Dallas Opera’s tremendously talented orchestra without all the onstage distractions of singers, sets, and English supertitles for you to follow the plot of La Bohème. For this program, the orchestra will perform selections from Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 and Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St.
Article courtesy of D Magazine:
http://frontrow.dmagazine.com/2016/04/the-25-things-you-must-do-in-dallas-this-april-2/
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