This Week's Best Concerts

Oh, Dave Grohl. Dave, Dave, Dave. I thought you were a pretty smart guy. So why did you have to pick a fight with Taylor Swift? By accusing her of using backing tracks?

Many acts, including Madonna, Kiss, Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe, have been attacked for their use of musical “supplements” to enhance the sound of their live shows. Grohl’s band, the Foo Fighters, was playing in London last weekend, and so was Taylor Swift. Fan-shot video shows Grohl making a clumsy comparison between the two tours, closing with, “That’s because we actually play live. What? Just saying. You guys like raw, live rock and roll music, right? You came to the right fucking place.”

Naturally, this didn’t sit well with the Swifties, and hardcore Swift fans quickly began assaulting Grohl online. “Obviously the most awful misogynistic thing ever said by a musician towards another,” one declared. “Good morning to everyone except Dave Grohl who likes to hate on successful women,” said another. I won’t weigh in on whether Grohl is correct in his assessment, but I will say this: Better watch your ass, dude. Those Swifties don’t play.

Ticket Alert

Pop princess Sabrina Carpenter will perform at Toyota Center on Sunday, October 27, in support of her forthcoming album, Short n’ Sweet. (Ms. Carpenter stands just under five feet tall). The presales are in progress, with the general ticket sale on Friday.

Lauryn Hill has just announced an extension of her co-headlining tour with the Fugees, and a Houston date is on the calendar, Saturday, September 7, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, with YG Marley opening. Hill will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of her career-defining album, The Miseducation of Ms. Lauryn Hill. Presales are up now, and general ticket sales will begin on Friday.

A couple of notable guitarists with markedly different styles will be in Houston soon. Jazzer Stanley Jordan, who has made an art form out of two-handed tapping, will perform at the Dosey Doe Big Barn on Thursday, October 24, and blues-rocker Joanne Shaw Taylor will make a stop at the Heights Theater on Saturday, November 23. Tickets for both shows are on sale now.

Concerts This Week

If you have even a passing familiarity with the public war of words between David Gilmour and Roger Waters, then you know that any sort of Pink Floyd reunion is not in the cards. However, Floyd devotees can get a taste of daisy chains and laughs tonight at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, when the Houston Symphony (along with a full rock band) will perform the music of Pink Floyd. The show is free, and no ticket is required.

Georgia Thunderbolts, keeper of the southern rock flame, will play at the Dosey Doe Big Barn on Thursday. The band released its debut album, Can We Get a Witness, in 2021 to critical acclaim, and they’ve been on the road ever since.

It’s summertime, and that means that the Doobie Brothers have returned to their natural habitat, the shed. In this case, the shed in question is the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and the day is Sunday. The show will cover all eras of Doobiedom, as vocalist / keyboard player Michael McDonald is now back in the fold. For more on the state of the Doobies union, check out Bob Ruggiero’s chat with the band. And be sure to get there early, so you don’t miss the opening set from blues great Robert Cray.

According to some, the BoDeans are the best thing to come out of Milwaukee since Schlitz beer. After multiple personnel changes, having its song “Closer to Free” used as theme for the television series “Party of Five,” serious intra-band tensions and fights with former managers and record companies, the band is still active after 40-plus years. You can catch their act on Sunday at the Dosey Doe.