This Week's Best Concerts

For many years now, The Smoking Gun has performed the public service of posting musicians’ tour riders on its website. This leads to periodic articles elsewhere listing all the of the wacky things that rich, spoiled rock stars demand to have backstage at their concerts. Guns N’ Roses wanted cigarettes and porno mags. Metallica wanted crispy bacon, available 24/7. Pantera wanted a dozen bean burritos and 24 tacos from Taco Bell. Bet it was fun to ride on their tour bus!

But riders aren’t always about decadence and gut bombs for entitled a-holes. I’m thinking about the recently departed Mojo Nixon here. Nixon started his rider by requesting that concert promoters “be nice” and “have a good time,” noting that “Elvis was always polite.” Right on, Mojo.

And then there were the Beatles. When the lovable mop tops toured the United States in the mid-’60s, they were kings of the world and could get anything they damn well pleased. So what did they ask for? Modest accommodations in the dressing room, just some cots, a cooler filled with drinks and a portable television set. But they also stipulated, during an era marked by conflicts over racism and civil rights, that they would not play for a segregated audience. And they meant it. Good on ya, lads.

Ticket Alert

Jennifer Lopez has announced a summer tour in support of her new album This is Me… Now, with a stop at Toyota Center scheduled for Saturday, August 31. This is Me…Now is a sequel to Lopez’ 2002 opus This is Me…Then, so I can only assume that This is Me…Later On is already in the works. Presales and VIP packages are on sale now, with the general sale scheduled for Friday.

After his Super Bowl halftime show, Usher is hot. How hot? How about three nights at Toyota Center, on November 27, 29 and 30? November 28 is Thanksgiving, so Usher is thoughtfully giving everyone the day off. Ticket prices for the shows max out north of $2,000, but here’s a tip: seats on the side of the stage can be had for $119.50 (upper level) or $299.50 (lower level).

Concerts This Week

Los Lonely Boys (the Garza brothers from San Angelo) began dispensing their distinctive brand of “Texican” rock and roll over 20 years ago, and they have been at it ever since, aside from a brief hiatus a couple of years ago when bassist Jojo Garza took a break from the band. Jojo is now back in the fold, though, and the band will bring its blend of rock, blues, Tejano and conjunto to the House of Blues on Friday.

Indie legends and critics’ darlings Yo La Tengo will play at the Heights Theater on Friday. Baseball fans may know that the band’s name was inspired by the 1962 New York Mets, who decided that the phrase “Yo la tengo” (“I have it”) would be used by fielders to call fly balls, due to the fact that some members of the team did not speak English. And by the way, how can you not like a band who called one of its albums I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass? Now that’s rock and roll.

Gov’t Mule is on tour to celebrate its 30th anniversary, which is quite something when you consider that this side project band was only intended to last for one album and a tour. If you dig inspired improvisation in a hard rocking context, don’t miss the Mule on Sunday at the Bayou Music Center.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds make a person proud to be a Texan. Though the T-Birds have, at times, flirted with more contemporary sounds, the foundation of their music has always been harmonica-driven hardcore blues, delivered with the conviction of true believers. You can hear Kim Wilson and the boys on Sunday at the Dosey Doe.